Requiem for a Running Back

2017

English

8.5

Documentary

Rebecca Carpenter Director

Mike Ditka as

Kathie Lee Gifford as Self

John Hilton as Self

Kevin Cook as Self

Director Rebecca Carpenter's father, Lewis Carpenter, was a running back for Vince Lombardi's NFL Champion Green Bay Packers. When he dies, her family receives a surprise call from Boston University's brain bank requesting his brain - with shocking results. Lew becomes the 18th NFL player diagnosed postmortem with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative neurocognitive disorder that can cause episodes of rage, social withdrawal, and other unusual behaviors. Carpenter finds herself at ground zero of an unfolding public health controversy and embarks on a three-year odyssey across America to explore the far-reaching implications of this "new" disease in football players.