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Doc on sports concussions based on Arlington Hts. native's book

A book by Arlington Heights native and concussion expert Chris Nowinski has been made into a documentary film, "Head Games," about the concussion crisis in youth and pro sports.

The movie, released nationally last week, is produced and directed by Steve James, director of the Academy Award-nominated film "Hoop Dreams."

Nowinski, 34, a Hersey High School alumnus, played football at Harvard University and was a WWE wrestler before suffering a career-ending concussion in 2004. He set out to learn all he could about sports-related concussions and in 2006 published the book, "Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis," which inspired the documentary.

Today, Nowinski runs the Sports Legacy Institute in Boston, which is dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis. He's also involved in numerous related organizations and is working on his Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience at Boston University's School of Medicine.

"Head Games" is now available on most on-demand video services.

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