One American neuroscientist wonders if a Power Slap League competitor will ever be the same following a devastating KO loss.
A lot has been made about Dana White’s Power Slap League series. Aside from the controversy surrounding UFC President Dana White not facing repercussions, at least publicly, for slapping his wife on New Year’s Eve in Mexico, many have called into question the safety and legitimacy of slap fighting as a sport.
Before every MMA and boxing match, the referee tells the combatant to protect themselves at all times. With Power Slap League, that option is out the window, as competitors are forced to be struck.
Those who watched the debut of Power Slap League on TBS Network witnessed a scary KO when Chris Kennedy ate a brutal strike and collapsed to the floor. Former WWE star Chris Nowinski, who is a neuroscientist, took to his Twitter account to say that Kennedy may never be the same after this knockout.
This is so sad. Note the fencing posture with the first brain injury. He may never be the same. @danawhite & @TBSNetwork should be ashamed. Pure exploitation. What’s next, “Who can survive a stabbing”? pic.twitter.com/jTENpUmJDd
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) January 19, 2023
“This is so sad. Note the fencing posture with the first brain injury,” Nowinski wrote. “He may never be the same. Dana White and TBS Network should be ashamed. Pure exploitation. What’s next, who can survive a stabbing?”
When Chris Kennedy was being helped by a doctor and an official after regaining consciousness, the conversation was alarming to viewers (via Mirror).
“You can sit on your butt right now. The doctor is next to you okay you got knocked out,” an official told him before Kennedy replied: ‘Got knocked out doing what? Was I fighting?’”
While these conversations after someone has been knocked out aren’t unusual in the world of boxing or MMA, the aforementioned inability to protect yourself as a competitor is what has garnered slap fighting criticism.
