Sonny Bill Williams lashes out at UFC supremo Dana White’s widely slammed Power Slap League
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Professional heavyweight boxer and former All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has criticized the controversial Power Slap League, saying he would not allow his children to participate in the sport.
The league, created by UFC boss Dana White, has been criticized by health experts for its handling of concussions, with many participants showing immediate signs of major head injuries while competing.
Williams, who is no stranger to collision sports and head injuries, took to social media to voice his concerns about the new sport on Sunday.
Professional heavyweight boxer Sonny Bill Williams (pictured) has criticized the controversial Power Slap League, saying he would not allow his children to participate in the sport.
The league, created by UFC boss Dana White, has come under fire from health experts for its handling of concussions.
‘Do rugby and league fans think about this? Would you let your kids compete in it? It’s a big NO for me,” he wrote alongside a video of a contestant being slapped unconscious.
Most of the fans who responded to Williams’ message were equally appalled by the brutal competition.
“It’s not sport, it’s senseless barbarism,” said one user.
‘Thank you Sonny! This is ridiculous,’ replied another.
“It should be banned, it’s not sport,” commented a third.
The UFC’s top fighter, Sean O’Malley, is also refusing to watch the new league due to the likelihood of the competitors sustaining brain injuries as they take turns slapping each other as hard as they can, with the target unable to move out of the box. path. of the blow
“It’s weird because some people love it,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel.
‘I could see maybe watch TV series like The Ultimate Fighter, like them in the house, get to know them, see their backstories.
Power Slap, which is scheduled to hold its first pay-per-view event on March 11 in Las Vegas, has been condemned as a “recipe for disaster” by neurologist Chris Nowinski (Dana White pictured).
‘But the actual ‘sport’, whatever you want to call it, itself, I can’t see. I can’t see it. I don’t know if I can’t see it, because I understand what concussions are. I understand; I have been through them. I know how bad it is to do that to your brain. I can’t even see it.
Power Slap, which will hold its first pay-per-view event on March 11 in Las Vegas, has been condemned as a “recipe for disaster” by neurologist Chris Nowinski.
The head trauma expert and former professional wrestler called the league “pure exploitation.”
Nowinski, who also played college football for Harvard, took aim at White, the promoter, and at TBS, which broadcasts the brutal competition.
“This is so sad,” Nowinski tweeted after a fighter was recently knocked out.
‘Note the fencing stance with the first brain injury. It may never be the same again.
A fencing stance or fencing response involves the victim’s hands shooting out in an unnatural position with the forearms flexed out and is taken as a sign of brain injury.
Nowinski, who also played college football for Harvard, took aim at White, the promoter, and at TBS, which broadcasts the brutal competition.
“@danawhite and @TBSNetwork should be ashamed,” Nowinski added. ‘Pure exploitation. What’s next, “Who can survive a stabbing?”
Consultant neurologist professor Nikos Evangelou said the risk of fighters being killed in sport is not an unreasonable possibility.
Consultant neurologist Professor Nikos Evangelou at Nottingham University Hospital said sky news:
‘One of the problems with Power Slap is that participants are penalized when they move or flinch. Any movement that can reduce the effect of the blow to the head is penalized.’
He said that “impact to the head, from an angle, can cause rotational forces on the brain,” which he says is a “recipe for disaster.”
“It’s all a matter of time before we see more serious brain injury from a dissection.”
The expert added that the risk of one of the fighters dying in the sport is not an unreasonable possibility. “Unfortunately, it’s not that uncommon in clinical practice.”