Ever since UFC president Dana White announced he was stepping into the world of slaps, questions have arisen about the safety of a “sport” that eliminates defensive implications. Now the first Power Slap in the rearview mirror In a League episode, those questions are turning into statements about how unsafe this new combat-sport spectacle can seem.
Former Harvard football player turned WWE wrestler Christopher Nowinski (one of the co-founders of the Concussion Legacy Foundation) wrote on Twitter about the power slap participant being knocked out: Note the fencing posture at the first brain injury. he may never be the same. @danawhite and @TBSNetwork should be ashamed. pure exploitation. Next is “Who will survive being stabbed!?”
Nowinski holds a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the Boston University School of Medicine and serves as an advisor to the NFL Players Association Mackey-White Health and Safety Commission, the Ivy League Concussion Commission, the Positive Coaching Alliance National Advisory Board, and the All-Elite. increase. wrestling.
According to the power slap rules, “flinching, blocking, or delaying the match is considered a foul.” Or rather, to put it bluntly, defense is not allowed.
Nikos Evangelou, clinical associate professor of neurology at Nottingham University Hospital and consultant neurologist, told Sky News: A blow to the head/brain is expected to result in a concussion, causing temporary and sometimes permanent disruption to brain function.
“Sadly, it can lead to more serious complications because it can twist your head.”
Evangelow called the slap “a recipe for disaster.”
Even in the very short history of the sport, there have already been deaths associated with slap fights.
On October 22, 2021, 46-year-old slap fighter Artur “Waluś” Walczak fell to the ground after being knocked out. Walczak suffered a cerebral hemorrhage as he was knocked down four times during the event. Walczak was taken to hospital and placed in a medically induced coma. He never regained consciousness and died of multiple organ failure in November of the same year.
Power Slap’s first episode of what was expected to be an eight-week run did poorly in the ratings. The show was postponed for a week after Dana White was caught on tape slapping his wife Anne during a family vacation in Mexico. It failed to maintain its audience and finished with 295,000 viewers and a share of 0.10 in the 18-49 demographic.
For now, TBS and White appear to be fully committed to pushing this latest business venture forward. Hopefully, these plans do not cause the long-term harm that seems likely to result from repeated unprotected blows to the head.
