Christopher Nowinski Talks to Orton About Concussion Awareness

[scottyshowman82]

I was reading this article on Christopher Nowinski and his continuing work on bringing concussion awareness to sports. In the article he says that he ran into Orton last year and says how Orton has changed his views on concussions.



"It’s funny, just to fast forward a guy like Randy Orton just didn’t buy into it, and I ran into him in March, and he started talking about his concussion experiences and he was like ‘Gosh I didn’t know it was that bad.' He is an advocate for himself now to take time off and so it’s interesting to see this turn. We all thought guys with concussions were soft back then, I did too."

source: http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/WWE/article10023288.shtml

I find this all very interesting. After the Chris Benoit scenario happened wrestlers have been looking at concussions differently. And with Santino taking the place of Randy Orton at this weekend's Elimination Chamber could this meeting with Nowinski been a factor. Is this a sign that WWE is smartening up and sincerely taking events in pro wrestling very seriously or is this a case of a company protecting just a top star and not the entire roster?

I really hope they take these type of actions with everyone.
Comments?

Also I highly recommend reading the entire article as it talks about details about Benoit I didn't even know to this date.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

I will try and read that article. I think Orton was a prick for the longest time so I don't know how open he was towards an ex-wrestler 'bashing' wrestling. Nowinski was on the news a few times after the Benoit incident and like so many other ex-wrestlers he was tagged as a bitter former performer ****ing himself out for some spotlight. Hell Jericho bashed Sammartino during that period.



But he is seen as someone more smarter because of his education, which is not that important to know all this.

 

[Pedigree1]

source: http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/WWE/article10023288.shtml

Very good article i recommend if you have a moment to read it!! As far as concussions go there very nasty thing to have!! I have had some minor concussoins i cant imagine major ones!! Even benoit stuff in there i had no idea like him just breaking down for no reason and changing flights because he thinks someone was following him or his family!! As far as randy orton goes nowinski talking to him im glad randy is at least listening!! You cant fool around with the brain at all it can only sustain so much damage and if randy does indeed suffer another concussion or two that could be the end of the viper!! No one knows long term effects!! Memory loss CTE (just now being talked about in MMA never mind sports entertainment but i digress thats not the subject at hand.! Im glad again randy is open to listen to chris about this its serious and hell man its ur life

 

[scottyshowman82]

source: http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/WWE/article10023288.shtml

Very good article i recommend if you have a moment to read it!! As far as concussions go there very nasty thing to have!! I have had some minor concussoins i cant imagine major ones!! Even benoit stuff in there i had no idea like him just breaking down for no reason and changing flights because he thinks someone was following him or his family!! As far as randy orton goes nowinski talking to him im glad randy is at least listening!! You cant fool around with the brain at all it can only sustain so much damage and if randy does indeed suffer another concussion or two that could be the end of the viper!! No one knows long term effects!! Memory loss CTE (just now being talked about in MMA never mind sports entertainment but i digress thats not the subject at hand.! Im glad again randy is open to listen to chris about this its serious and hell man its ur life

Ya man the stuff about Benoit being very parnoid about someone stealing his kid and wrestlers saying he was breaking down crying for no reason I never knew. And part at the end about Verne Gagne being in the Alzheimer's home and killing a man and getting away is it is. The worst part he didn't even he was doing it because he had brain disease and wasn't prosecuted.

Startling stuff to say the least.

 

[closet_fan]

I'm in a wheelchair and wound up getting one when the back of my head hit the tile floor of a bathroom when a wheelie went to far back. My head sounded like a coconut hitting a wall. I was messed up for weeks. You really feel like your in a haze. That's the only way I could describe it.

These things shouldn't be taken lightly. I'm just glad Orton came to the realization that they aren't only severe, but that he knew enough to tell officials after it happened and miss his EC spot.

 

[Rayne]

This issue is pretty complicated for me, and not in the predictable ways.

For the WWE (or TNA/IW for that matter), it makes sense from a fiscal perspective to have these guys take a seat if a doctor orders it. If they pressure their employees to perform, despite being aware of the risks of multiple concussions, they are practically begging for a lawsuit in the future. (For those of you unfamiliar with independent contractor law, please do not come in here and say that by being independent contractors, they cannot sue the WWE.) Their lawyers are almost certainly lined up on this- take the short term pain, rather than the long term massacre.

It also makes sense from a moral perspective. Let's not kid ourselves, the life expectancy of a professional wrestler is dramatically shorter than those in most other lines of work. I don't want the guilty conscience I'd get from pushing people to kill themselves a little faster so that I could raise a few more dollars.

Who doesn't it make sense for? Young wrestlers trying to establish themselves. Fans don't care if you ripped your ACL, concussed yourself, what have you- they only notice that you're there or not. Fans caring about injuries comes once your famous. So until then, the pressure absolutely is on to be out there every night, at every opportunity, regardless of injury. The WWE doesn't have to add any pressure to them for that; young wrestlers will do it to themselves.

In the end, the question I have to ask myself is, "do professional wrestling companies have an obligation to monitor their employees for signs of hidden injury", as other sports companies do? That's a really tough one for me, and not one I think I can definitively answer right now- you get into issues of whether you can afford to pay for your morals.

 

[H33LTurn]

Being that Orton has suffered many concussions and is perfectly sane to our understanding is probably why he didnt take all the head trauma news seriously. We all have a habit of sorts that probably does us harm and while we know its wrong we'll continue to do it until tragedy strikes. I'm glad Chris spoke to him and glad that WWE took him off the PPV. I dont think they would let anyone, big star or not, wrestle with a concussion. Its just an unnecessary risk.

 

[brighamosity]

Being that Orton has suffered many concussions and is perfectly sane to our understanding is probably why he didnt take all the head trauma news seriously. We all have a habit of sorts that probably does us harm and while we know its wrong we'll continue to do it until tragedy strikes. I'm glad Chris spoke to him and glad that WWE took him off the PPV. I dont think they would let anyone, big star or not, wrestle with a concussion. Its just an unnecessary risk.

That gave me a funny idea for a gimmick. Ok, so we all know Randy Orton's character "hears voices" and "goes into that special place". Well what if some on-camera doctor was seen talking to Orton and telling him the reason he is having these problems is because of his concussions. All the wrestlers could be trying to talk to Orton, telling him he needs to seek out help for his problems, but he refuses because the voices help him with his matches.

With that said, I'd be interested in seeing some sort of documentary on what Christopher Nowinski actually does. I hear all these stories about how dead athletes have their brains donated to him. What's he do with them?

 

[Maikeru_1979]

That gave me a funny idea for a gimmick. Ok, so we all know Randy Orton's character "hears voices" and "goes into that special place". Well what if some on-camera doctor was seen talking to Orton and telling him the reason he is having these problems is because of his concussions.

they already did something like this. back during the HHH/Randy fued when Randy attacked Steph remember he had "lawyers" come to Raw and say he wasn't responsible for his actions because he suffers from I.E.D.(Intermittent explosive disorder) witch i believe can be caused by concussions. they just kinda droped that part of story after the Mania match

that is a good article as well. and opens another part of the Beniot tragedy that most of us didn't know about.

 

[jrichardson25]

At least Orton is listening. Nowinski isn't a dummy by any means. As long as he continues to get his facts correct and continues to advocate and get support like Orton, I hope that the rest of the guys in WWE and every other organization take this in to consideration and recuperate properly.

 

[scottyshowman82]

That gave me a funny idea for a gimmick. Ok, so we all know Randy Orton's character "hears voices" and "goes into that special place". Well what if some on-camera doctor was seen talking to Orton and telling him the reason he is having these problems is because of his concussions. All the wrestlers could be trying to talk to Orton, telling him he needs to seek out help for his problems, but he refuses because the voices help him with his matches.

With that said, I'd be interested in seeing some sort of documentary on what Christopher Nowinski actually does. I hear all these stories about how dead athletes have their brains donated to him. What's he do with them?

http://www.chrisnowinski.com/

This is Nowinski's site, I find it quite commendable and impressive what he's been doing. Like I said he's one a lot of awards even sits on a comity that deals with athletes well being in the NFL and obviously has a keen interest in pro wrestling since that's where he came from where he got his career ending head trauma.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

That gave me a funny idea for a gimmick. Ok, so we all know Randy Orton's character "hears voices" and "goes into that special place". Well what if some on-camera doctor was seen talking to Orton and telling him the reason he is having these problems is because of his concussions. All the wrestlers could be trying to talk to Orton, telling him he needs to seek out help for his problems, but he refuses because the voices help him with his matches.

With that said, I'd be interested in seeing some sort of documentary on what Christopher Nowinski actually does. I hear all these stories about how dead athletes have their brains donated to him. What's he do with them?

He touches them, all over. He likes to do it. Then he gives them back if they're labeled Abby Something.

It is great what he's doing, though. The brain is something that needs so much more study. We'll never know enough about it.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

I will try and read that article. I think Orton was a prick for the longest time so I don't know how open he was towards an ex-wrestler 'bashing' wrestling. Nowinski was on the news a few times after the Benoit incident and like so many other ex-wrestlers he was tagged as a bitter former performer ****ing himself out for some spotlight. Hell Jericho bashed Sammartino during that period.



But he is seen as someone more smarter because of his education, which is not that important to know all this.

You know, this is the first time I have ever heard anyone anywhere say Nowinski was just some ex-wrestler 'bashing' wrestling during the Benoit murders.

Chris Nowinski deserves nothing but the utmost respect for the level of awareness he's raised throughout sport regarding concussions and brain injuries. In a sense, it was for the greater good that he received his own concussion, because without his work, I honestly believe that we would not know as much as we do about brain injuries today.

Think about it. Before Nowinski began his work, concussions were simply not taken seriously in the sporting world. Bret Hart wrestled for months with a severe concussion that eventually left him susceptible to his eventual stroke... and he was prescribed Advil to treat it by his doctor. Football players would get released if they took too much time off from a concussion. Hockey players would rarely miss a shift or else.

Now concussions are probably the number one issue in sports. Any hockey fan will know how concussion injuries have dramatically increased this season, and the reason is simple. We're aware of the serious of them now... and in large part, we can thank Chris Nowinski for that.

He was never some bitter ex-wrestler. He was a guy educating the world about something it did not understand, and guys like Orton will listen to him today because they're not idiots, and they understand he's one of the worlds leading authorities on the subject.