By Tristan Eid
The UFC’s new power slap league is everything that is currently wrong about sports.
Contestants are forced to endure slaps with strict guidelines until they physically can’t anymore which can result in long-term damage to the brain and cause concussions which will come back to haunt individuals for the rest of their lives.
UFC boss Dana White announced on March 13 that Power Slap would not return to TBS for season two. The first season took place in Las Vegas, after the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) unanimously voted to sanction Power Slap in October 2022, and delivered a below-average star rating of 2.4 according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Stephen Cloobeck, the former NAC chairman, recently told the Associated Press of his decision: “I made a mistake, I’m not happy about it.”
You would have to be a pretty sick individual if you enjoy watching people endure punishment and suffer without having the ability to do anything but endure a brutal slap to the face.
To add to the abomination of the slap league, when a contestant is badly hurt by getting slapped they even celebrate the knockouts. The following video lays bare the brutality.
Chris Nowinski, head of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, has been extremely vocal about condemning the Power Slap League, particularly in regards to athletes that are showing signs of the fencing response.
A 2009 study noted that the fencing response, an unnatural position of the arms following a concussion, is an observational marker that can discern between a mild brain injury and a moderate brain injury. Meaning that this could also be the difference between temporary damage and a permanent traumatic brain injury.
Power slap plays entirely into the brutality of people witnessing people getting knocked out completely out of their control without requiring any skill, training or athleticism behind it.
For example, a participant named Chris Kennedy suffered memory loss after the enduring a slap putting more into question Dana White’s credibility. Coincidentally, league creator White was involved in a controversial slapping incident with his wife on New Years Eve, a few days prior to Power Slap’ league’s scheduled debut.
The Power Slap league is a disaster waiting to happen as we witness more people suffering traumatic brain injuries. And it’s only going to get worse as long as this disgrace of a sport continues to get air time and be promoted.
Featured image: The simple brutality of slap fighting in confronting. Picture: Freya Spargo/CC/flicker
