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Larry King Live opened with Larry King saying, "There are new questions about what made wrestling superstar Chris Benoit snap." He said repeated blows to his head could have contributed, and he'd have the first live, uncut interview with Chris's father up next.
King introduced Michael Benoit and Dr. Robert Cantou chief of neurosurgery of Emerson Hospital, co-director of the neurological sports injury center in at Brigham Women's College, and founding member of the Sports Legacy Institute.
King asked Benoit how he was coping with his son's suicide. He said, "When it first happened, we just couldn't understand that this was the Chris that we know and loved." He said he found out through a reporter who used to be a friend of Chris's. He said he received a call on his cell phone from his cousin in Ottawa who asked him, "Is it true and before I could get the words out," the reporter came up to me said, "He's gone." Benoit had trouble getting those words out. "Larry, we were searching for answers. The world was so black. Not only we lost our son, but lost our daughter-in-law and grandson." He said his wife is having a very difficult time coping. He said they are fortunate to have a daughter who is extremely strong and helpful to them.
Regarding his other children, ages 10 and 15, he said it's difficult to know how they're coping with the loss of their father and step-brother. He said it continues to overwhelming.
He said Chris phoned him on Father's Day. He said Chris said he unfortunately was on the road and would have rather been with his wife and children. He said he'd often talk about how tired he was. When he would ask Chris about Nancy and Daniel, he said his voice would brighten up in phone calls with him.
Regarding the Diary, he said a neighbor retrieved it from the trash. He said it contains entries from late in 2005 shortly after the death of Eddie Guerrero. "After I read it, it was very, very disturbing to me. He seemed extremely depressed. It's almost like he was sitting there talking to Eddie." He said there were also quotes from the Bible, which was out of character for Chris.
He said they were so overwhelmed at first, they didn't know what to think. He said on the fourth day, he got a call from the chief medical examiner who said they were releasing the body. He said he called the funeral parlor, but that afternoon he got a call from Chris Nowinski. He said Nowinski felt there might be brain damage from injuries suffered in the ring. He said he was sceptical at first. He said he suspected it could be The National Enquirer or The Globe. He had him send him two articles on the subject and a letter for him to sign. He said he saw no proof of him actually being with the Sports Legacy Institute. Nowinski then passed along doctors to contact.
[Commercial Break]
Dr. Cantu spoke of four other athletes who had "brain damage due to concussive and cumulative sub-concussive brain injuries." They were all NFL players. He said in a similar study of Benoit's brain, they found abnormal tau protein formations throughout his brain. He said the brain damage in Benoit was more extensive than in the NFL players. He said Benoit had a triad of traits - cognitive impairment, depression, and erratic emotional behavior - that fits with the brain damage. He said his advice would have been for Benoit to stop wrestling had he been diagnosed while alive.
Michael Benoit said the man he loved who was his son would never do what he did. When asked if he bought into the theories of steroids causing it, Michael said steroids are common in sports today. "The difference between professional wrestling and these sporting events, in professional wrestling, the outcome is scripted. They script who's going to win, so the wrestlers aren't 'cheating' (by taking steroids). I'll give you an example. His mom had read an article about tanning booths one time. She said, 'They're very dangerous, why are you doing this. He said, 'Mom, I can't get in the ring looking like a plucked chicken.' So steroids were taken for the look."
When Dr. Cantu was asked about steroids contributing to Benoit's actions, he said: "I think there is significant debate in the medical community about that whether steroid rage really exists. I realize here we're dealing with actions over a three day period that clearly were not just rage reactions; deliberation went on for at least part of it." He said most importantly there is no evidence to suggest that steroids lead to the brain damage in Chris's brain.
King asked if concussions can cause someone to do something horrific. Dr. Cantu said three of the other four cases committed suicide.
King read WWE's statement: "Today's attempt to explain that Chris Benoit's murder of his family was possibly caused by some form of dementia as a result of alleged concussions is speculative. WWE can certainly understand the anguish of a father having to deal with the fact that his son allegedly murdered his wife and young son, as Chris Benoit is alleged to have done. We respect the desire of that father to do whatever he can to find some explanation as to why his son might commit such horrible acts."
[Commercial Break]
King brought on Sonjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon who is also a well-known CNN personality. He stood in front of a graphic of what a normal brain looks like compared to Benoit's brain. He said the tau protein deposits can approximate someone having dementia, memory loss, and behavior changes. He compared it to Alzheimer's Disease, but said we're talking about just a 40 year old man. King asked if concussions causing that type of brain damage can lead to Chris Benoit's acts. "I don't know, Larry. Establishing that cause and effect relationship, I guess I'm not prepared to say that for sure." He did say that concussions get exponentially worse as they add up. He said there is also emerging evidence of what that does to your brain. He brought up the "punch drunk" syndrome in boxers dating back to the 1920s. He said he's open to the possibility that such brain damage can cause snapping and violence. He said they are beginning to recognize something that hasn't been recognized before. He said Alzheimer's is a recognized position, and evidence is building in this situation, but it hasn't gotten to that point yet.
Dr. Gupta asked Dr. Cantu if he was surprised Chris Benoit didn't have more symptoms leading up to the actions. He said the diary, written almost two years before his death, indicates that depression and erratic behavior were being experienced before. He said there is also evidence of him having cognitive difficulties as well. He said there is a track record that goes back several years. He said as it's studied, it may prove to go back even more years.
Gupta said he wants to be as accurate as possible and said he doesn't believe the brain damage is from steroids. "It is most likely due, based on everything we know, from repeated concussions. Something clearly happened in his brain," he said. King asked if wrestlers and NFL players should be looked at more by medical experts. Dr. Gupta said: "I think so. This is something we've done quite a few stories on. Not only should they be looked at more, but they should be looked at the time of the injury and maybe even be grounded or kept off the field or out of the ring more diligently. A first concussion, as quickly as someone may recover from it and actually get back to a level of play, what has happened to their brain at that point and what will happen to their brain if they get a second concussion, we know now that it's exponentially worse. We need to be diligent as doctors and trainers who help monitor this thing whether we allow players back onto the field."
Dr. Cantu noted clips of Benoit showed neck snapping movements that can cause whiplash and concussions.
When asked if he liked that Chris wrestled, Michael said: "That was my son's passion. He loved to wrestle. What bothered me about the wrestling industry were the extremes they went to. Wrestling is a work. Work means it's an illusion - what you see in the ring really is not happening, people aren't killing themselves in the ring. Once they introduced the chairs, the ladders, the tables. This is real. I once asked my son when you get hit with a chair, does it hurt. He said damn right it hurts.
KELLER ANALYSIS: There is no need for WWE to wait for "scientific concensus" or "scientific proof" that Chris Benoit's actions were, at least in part, a result of head trauma from concussions and sub-concussive brain injuries. What is known is that when a first concussion happens, it's vital that they have time to recover before being put back in a high risk situation. If this means WWE has to pull a wrestler off of a PPV main event on Sunday because he suffered a concussion on Saturday at a small house show, so be it. Fans will understand. WWE should skip pyro at the start of Raw for two or three weeks and use that money saved to hire a full-time concussion specialist to examine and diagnose concussions when they happen. He also must, somehow, be free of pressure to look the other way or fault on the side of what's good for business. Can WWE be trusted to make sure a concussion expert doesn't feel pressure to let questionable situations fault on the side of convenience for WWE rather than inconvenience? I don't know. That is where you begin to consider the possibility of outside regulation being necessary to protect wrestlers from themselves and to protect their families (and fans) from dealing with their deaths or, even worse, brain injuries that, when combined with other aspects of being a wrestler, leads to violence against others.
For the record, in my Keller's Take posted on June 27, I wrote an article suggesting the five talking points that should be the focus of the post-Benoit tragedy among people in the industry and the mainstream media. After steroids and prescription pills, my second item was "Repeated Untreated Concussions." I wrote:
Repeated Untreated Concussions:
As Chris Nowinski brought up in today's New York Times article, repeated untreated concussions should be part of the investigation of Benoit's actions and changes WWE could make to help prevent future deaths.
I was appaled that WWE let Chris Benoit continue to do his top rope headbutt dive after his neck surgery. I was told by a WWE official, when I questioned him, "What are we supposed to do? Fine him or suspend him if he keeps doing it?" "Yes!" was my answer. They didn't.
On the three major broadcast network evening newcasts last night, each of them either led into or followed the Benoit story with with an NFL-concussion syndrome story. The second phase of consequences from WWE's callous attitude toward the people who work for them whom they treat as expendable assets the past 25 years are the long-term ramifications of concussions stemming from allowing so many stiff chairshots and other high-impact, jarring moves that are unnecessary given the wide array of options out there for telling a compelling, exciting story in the ring.
Vince McMahon should hire doctors who specialize in concussions and their long-term effects, have them study tapes of WWE matches, and make recommendations on which moves shouldn't be allowed, how chairshots should be administered (if at all), and how concussions should be diagnosed and treated.
So this "new twist" in the Benoit story is hardly a surprise for me. I've felt all along this was a major issue. I didn't need to study Benoit's brain under a microscope to know this was a strong possibility. It is shameful that WWE officials continue to seemingly opt on the side of doing nothing to protect the health of its wrestlers unless pressured or forced to. If this industry cannot exist without wrestlers ending up so badly damaged after a decade or two of contributors and sacrifie, the industry should cease to exist. The fact is, though, a safe version of this industry is possible. An exciting, compelling, successful, profitable version is possible. It simply takes Vince McMahon taking a second out of his campaign to be a "tough guy" who "stays on the offense" and do what's right for his wrestlers who are too tempted by or addicted to the fame and money that WWE offers them to know what's best for them. It's sad, but true - there are enough people willing to risk destroying themselves for the fame and money of being a "WWE Superstar" to keep McMahon from having to address these issues - concussions, prescription pills, steroids, growth hormone, and the effects of working 50 weeks a year (year after year, decade after decade) without routine, mandatory, extended time off of at least one month twice a year.
Of all the mainstream media reports I've talked to, I've almost always brought up concussions as a major potential contributor to Benoit's health and actions, and only (if my memory serves me well) the Washington Post story found room or justification to mention it in the long story it published. Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
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