Have you ever read something and said, “Wow that’s f*d up?” Because that’s exactly what this is. The Supreme Court has denied to hear from the former wrestlers leading the charge against the WWE on a brain damages case. In the case, they state that the WWE knew that there may be cause for concern about brain damage, and did not inform the wrestlers.
Many pro wrestlers are now suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and dementia because of it. Two deceased former wrestlers, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara, were posthumously diagnosed with CTE. According to lawyers on the case there is no way to currently diagnose CTE while the person is alive.
The plaintiffs in the case include Russ “Big Russ” McCullough, William “Billy Jack” Haynes, Ryan Sakoda, Matthew “Luther Reigns” Wiese and the widow of Nelson “Viscera” Frazier, who died in 2014. There had been other cases but due to the statute of limitations they were dismissed.
Football professionals have also come under fire for this same reason. It was only recently that they acknowledged the concern at all. In 2016 the NFL owned up to the link between football and CTE and that same year they pledged $100 million to independent medical research into neuroscience related topics.
Now you would think that the WWE could do the same but they are completely defensive about the case. According to the AP Jerry McDevitt, a lawyer for WWE said, “We’re glad it’s finally over… we were completely vindicated.”
Things like this need to be addressed and there needs to be more research done to diagnose people while they are alive. This was part of the purpose of the case and to think that the supreme court just threw out the testimonies of those that are most effected is disgusting.
A Tragedy
If you remember in 2007 Chris Benoit, a 40-year-old Canadian professional killed his family in a double murder suicide. It was later found that he was suffering from CTE after they performed an autopsy on him. The autopsy revealed that he had damage to all four lobes of the brain and the brain stem. His colleagues said that repeated concussions could lead to dementia which can contribute to severe behavioral problems. When Benoit’s father said that brain damage was probably the cause of his actions the WWE released a statement which dismissed the idea as “speculative.”
Symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) include short term memory loss, difficulty thinking, impulsive behavior, depression, thoughts of suicide and emotional instability.
