‘Concussion’ Trailer Pits Will Smith Against the NFL

A new trailer for Will Smith’s controversial NFL drama Concussion debuted on Thursday, and it has Will Smith going head-to-head with the National Football League.

The film tells the story of the Nigerian-born doctor Bennet Omalu (Smith) who blew the cover off the NFL after discovering that the trauma endured by football players was causing them to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease.

Scenes in the trailer show Smith placed in an uncomfortable and possibly life-threatening position against the powerful sports league, which “owns a day of the week.” Regardless of the NFL’s persistence in trying to cover up the situation, a determined Smith is shown saying, “Tell the truth.”

The film shows the NFL no mercy, but director Peter Landesman did reveal that one scene featuring NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (played by Luke Wilson) was cut due to defamation concerns. Landesman also told THR he has had “no communication” with the sports league.

Albert Brooks and Alec Baldwin also star in the sports drama, based on the GQ magazine article “Game Brain” by Jeanne Marie Laskas. The film will premiere at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles. It hits theaters on Christmas Day.

Watch the new trailer below.