NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Dr. Bennet Omalu.

He was in New York Monday, August 7, to give a presentation at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York, and hosted by the New York Press Club, about his new book, Truth Doesn't Have a Side.

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.

We spoke with him right after this presentation, and mainly about why he included wrestling in his list of high-contact sports which children under the age of 18 should avoid, which are football, boxing, MMA, ice hockey, and rugby.

A study published September 2015 in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that college wrestling has the highest rate of concussions of any college sport, including football. But as to rules changes in wrestling to make it safer, Dr. Omalu said, "I tend to defer to the sports experts, because I'm not an expert in many of these sports."

Dr. Omalu, however, sees wrestling's problems as being far deeper than just the levels of head trauma and brain injuries.

"The problem with wrestling is," he said, "there's no professional wrestling outside WWE.

"So if you, say, allow wrestling in children, that means you're encouraging children eventually to go into MMA or WWE. Does that make sense? So that is why I lump all of them together, because I see it as a spectrum."

In addition to his comments on the combat and contact sports, we add commentaries on some of the issues related to CTE, concussions, and combat sports. Those include the prevalence of concussions in judo, breaking the links between real wrestling and grappling and both WWE and MMA, the need for combat sports training for self-defense, and much, much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

USA Combat Wrestling, the official U.S. governing body for combat wrestling and U.S. delegate of the International Combat Wrestling Federation (FICW), which was founded by the legendary wrestler Noriaki Kiguchi of Japan. For more information, go to CombatWrestling.us.

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

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.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com.

USA Combat Wrestling, the official U.S. governing body for combat wrestling and U.S. delegate of the International Combat Wrestling Federation (FICW), which was founded by the legendary wrestler Noriaki Kiguchi of Japan. For more information, go to CombatWrestling.us.

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

On Monday, August 7, Dr. Bennet Omalu, the pioneering forensic pathologist who discovered the link between the disease of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and American football, and whose life and work were dramatized in the 2015 film "Concussion" starring Will Smith, made the media rounds in New York. He was there to promote his new book, Truth Doesn't Have a Side, which has just been released.

I was able to attend his presentation and the question-and-answer session that followed, hosted by the New York Press Club and held at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. I also got a one-on-one interview with Dr. Omalu, specifically focusing on the issue of head trauma and combat sports which have no striking, such as the various styles of wrestling and grappling.

Audio of the presentation and the interview will be posted shortly on No Holds Barred.

Labels: American football, Bennet Omalu. CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, combat, concussion, contact, Eddie Goldman, sports