From the “wrestlers I don’t want to carpool with” file:
– Kurt Angle, the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, was arrested Friday on charges of drunk driving, having failed a field sobriety test while refusing a blood test.
– Rob Van Dam, who was arrested for marijuana possession while WWE and ECW Champion last year, has updated his MySpace blog with comments on his arrest and more. It is a great, long, read that includes this excerpt:
If you haven’t heard any of my interviews on the subject of wrestlers being taken advantage of, I offer an honest but probably different opinion than most. Forget the wrestler’s union. It’ll never happen. Wrestlers are all replaceable and have nowhere else to go anyway. Are you surprised when you hear that wrestler’s don’t get insurance benefits? Big deal. We are independent contractors, just like the guy you paid to paint your house. If the painter signs a contract that says he will work for you for 3 years, and work for no one else and give ownership of any plans or ideas created or used on the job to you, and he gives you the right to amend the contract on your side to implement dress codes and fines and wellness programs and whatever else you decide along the way, that’s the deal he made. If you are paying him enough money so he can get his own insurance, set up his own retirement funds, and you take care of getting him to the job and back home, what’s the problem? He’s not an employee. He’s self-employed. Would he rather have less pay, but get insurance through you? Probably not, especially since he’s covered if he gets hurt on the job anyway. Make sense? I hope I cleared some questions up for you and gave you a different angle to see the situation from. I admit as quickly as anyone that the job is way challenging, but it’s a challenge we agree to. That’s why I finished the agreement that I made and now I’m done. For the moment, anyway.
Chris Nowinski is heading the research that discovered the brain damage in Benoit’s head from trauma. This offers the best possible scientific explanation for what could have happened. I’m talking with Chris about his discoveries and about ways to educate everyone. He’s findings show that many athletes who have experienced concussions share commonalities that can include paranoia and depression and ultimately, suicide. Some of my friends have other qualities that are consistent with concussions like headaches and inability to retain information, and even difficulty staying awake. We have to look at the whole situation differently now. Many times I’ve laughed at my own disability to regain balance and equilibrium after a good shot to the head. It seems that maybe some real damage could be taking place, and Benoit possibly having dementia is a scary enough reason to take notice. If these suicide victims all had former multiple concussions, and there could possibly be a pattern, I’m wondering if that could explain the loss of my good friend and old travel partner Mike Awsome. If you want to know more information and especially if you know someone who’s suffering from bumps to the head, you can email Chris Nowinski at nowinski@sportslegacy.org
RVD also goes on to give commentary on his new online TV show — RVD TV — as well as MMA fighter Nick Diaz, the closing of his comic store, an upcoming trip to New Zealand and Australia and more.
