NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the complete audio from the August 7 presentation by Dr. Bennet Omalu at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York, and hosted by the New York Press Club, as well as the informative and lively question-and-answer session which followed the presentation.

Dr. Omalu is the pioneering forensic pathologist who was the first to prove a connection between the head trauma and brain injuries which inherently result from playing American football, and the disease CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

He was in New York conducting interviews as part of a tour to promote his new book, Truth Doesn't Have a Side.

In the discussion, Dr. Omalu passionately voiced his opposition to children under the age of 18 playing American football or engaging in other contact sports.

"Do you love your child less than you love football? Which do you love more, football, or the life of your child? This is a question society should answer," he said.

As to the continuing popularity of NFL football, he said, "It's all about money. We are placing money above the value of the life of our children. But I believe strongly, in the fullness of time, it will change, because the truth will prevail. Does that make sense?"

And he specified, "I have always said, and it has been my position forever, that no child under the age of 18, in America today, should play the high-impact, high-contact collision sports. The Big Six are American football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, wrestling, boxing, rugby."

A one-on-one interview with Dr. Omalu will be posted on a subsequent edition of No Holds Barred.

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Labels: American football, children, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, combat, concussion, contact, Dr. Bennet Omalu. CTE, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, sports