I am trying to fight off a mild case of Red Sox pennant fever, and I notice that the football season is creeping up on us. This has reminded me of a movie I recently watched, "Concussion."

The movie documents the story of Bennett Omalu, M.D., a neuropathologist who knew nothing of American football when he first began doing autopsies on the brains of former NFL players.

It is the story of one dedicated man’s pioneering work in the discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a term unknown prior to Dr. Omalu’s work. CTE is an irreversible brain damage caused by repeated blows to the head.

Dr. Omalu is board certified in clinical pathology, forensic pathology, neuropathology, medical management and public health. I cite Dr. Omalu’s qualifications because the movie is also the story of the NFL’s attempt to denigrate Dr. Omalu and discredit his findings.

The NFL demanded an apology from him, claiming there was no evidence linking brain injury with football. This reminded me of the scene where a line of tobacco executives each raised their right hand to high heaven and swore that tobacco does not cause lung cancer.

The NFL now admits that 25-30 percent of its players will sustain "some difficulty" (quote marks are mine) after their playing career. CTE was up 32 percent in 2015, in spite of the 39 new rules intended to make the game safer.

Veteran sportscaster Bob Costas, in an interview with The Huffington Post, said the NFL concussion problem can’t be fixed because it has an existential problem: football is inherently dangerous to all who play it.

Richard Sherman, the all-pro defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks, said he doesn’t have to go to the theater to see "Concussion." He sees it every Sunday.

NFL gross revenues last year approached $12 billion. A 30-second TV ad during last year’s Super Bowl cost $5 million. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell knocks down almost $55 million per year.

Football is big business, and therein lies a major obstacle to fixing the problem. The powers that be would do well to heed the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Health is the first wealth."

We are not talking about sprains and strains here or someone just "getting his bell rung," as they used to say. CTE causes dementia, untimely death and suicide, not to mention its implication in cases of domestic violence.

All this in individuals who were once in the finest physical condition.

What is the solution? Drastic and courageous changes are needed. Edmund Burke, the 18th-century Irish statesman and philosopher, said it well: "The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

In view of the current state of medical knowledge, it is unethical and perhaps even immoral to continue playing football as it is played today. Players are bigger, faster and stronger than ever. It is time for the powers that be to drastically modify the game – something I believe can be done without detracting from the interest and excitment of the game.

Are you ready for some "new" football? Please, Lucy, snatch that old football away once again before someone else gets hurt.

Jack Graceffa is a retired dentist who lives in Hollis.