The WWE has been hit again by a concussion lawsuit, this time by stars Vito Lograsso and Evan Singleton, who filed a class-action lawsuit against the organization in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claiming the WWE’s “campaign of misinformation and deception to prevent it’s wrestlers from understanding the true nature and consequences of the injuries they have sustained.”
Singleton charged that “after approximately 15 matches, during which he sustained multiple traumas, he suffered a serious head injury during a match … (after which) the WWE cleared him to continue wrestling after inadequate rest time and downplayed his injury.”
Lograsso, meanwhile, alleged that his concussions have left him suffering “from serious neurological damage, including severe headaches, memory loss, depression and anxiety, as well as deafness.”
Singleton and Lograsso’s attorney is Konstantine Kyros, who also represented Billy Jack Haynes in his October 2014 lawsuit against the WWE in Oregon federal court. Kyros has claimed that professional wrestlers “have more of the repetitive head trauma than NFL players.” He added that while the WWE has had various concussion policies since about 2008, “those policies . . . have been completely and totally inadequate.”
The plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit that “under the guise of providing entertainment, the WWE has, for decades, subjected its wrestlers to extreme physical brutality that it knew, or should have known, caused created latent conditions and long-term irreversible bodily damage, including brain damage.”
WWE counsel Jerry McDevitt responded with the following statement: “This lawsuit is virtually identical to one filed by the same lawyers in Oregon, neither of which have any merit. WWE has never concealed any medical information related to concussions, or otherwise, from our (performers). WWE was well ahead of sports organizations in implementing concussion management procedures and policies as a precautionary measure as the science and research on this issue emerged.”
The WWE, as an organization, also issued a statement:
“WWE performers are taught the art of perceived contact, which is cleverly choreographed. However, there are still some unintentional risks associated with in-ring performances; as such WWE has been well ahead of sports organizations in implementing concussion management procedures and policies as a precautionary measure as the science and research on this issue emerged. Current WWE procedures include ImPACT testing for brain function, annual educational seminars and the strict prohibition of deliberate and direct shots to the head.
The WWE also pointed to its relationship the Sports Legacy Institute, which was co-founded by former wrestler Chris Nowinski.
“WWE has committed significant funding for concussion research conducted by the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), leaders in concussion research, and WWE Executive Vice President Paul Levesque sits on SLI’s Board,” it noted.
