WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero, Jr (right) is among the 53 plaintiffs in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Connecticut on Monday. (credit: Getty Images / Ethan Miller )
Dozens of former professional wrestlers have filed a proposed class-action civil suit against World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), alleging that the organization should be held accountable for “long-term neurological injuries” that the performers suffered while body-slamming and pile-driving each other throughout the decades.
The 214-page suit, filed in United States District Court in Connecticut on Monday, includes among its 53 plaintiffs the famous-wrestler likes of Chavo Guerrero Jr., Joseph “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis, James “Kamala” Harris, Paul “Mr. Wonderful” Orndorff, and Jimmy “Supafly” Snuka. The lengthy suit attempts to hold the WWE responsible for its performers’ issues with concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain-ravaging disease that figured largely in recent class-action suits filed by players’ associations for the NFL and NHL American sports leagues.
CTE, a degenerative disease linked to repeated concussions that leads to memory loss, dementia, and suicidality, has been connected to injuries in many professional sports leagues, and the WWE is no exception. Among the more notorious examples is that of former WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, whose issues with CTE were confirmed after his murder-suicide case in 2007.
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Source: Ars Technica – 53 wrestlers file class-action civil suit against WWE over concussions, CTE