By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

Former WWE wrestler Chris Nowinski says he is still very concerned about the NHL and pro wrestling's policies of handling head trauma cases with their athletes.

Nowinski, who now heads up the Sports Legacy Institute to study the long-term effects of brain trauma on pro athletes, says the key problem is doctors being afraid of telling athletes they need to shut down their careers when the trauma becomes too much to bear.

"I was let down by the docs," Nowinski told the Vancouver Sun about his personal experience. "When I was deciding when I should return to wrestling, nobody gave me the credit to say, 'These things could be in your future, and maybe you should think about hanging it up.'"

Nowinski says doctors are scared to tell athletes not to play professional sports anymore because athletes have tied their entire identity to being an athlete. "They (doctors) don't always see them as whole people with families and kids," Nowinski said.

As a result, Nowinski says the Sports Legacy Institute is studying brain damage to athletes to help provide a better life after sports. Too many athletes are suffering depression, chronic headaches, and a poor quality of life after sports, he says.

One of the key case studies is former NHL All-Star Keith Primeau, whose 15-year career ended by post-concussion syndrome. Now, Primeau has been "reduced to a man tormented by the kind of headaches and depression non-sufferers can't even imagine," according to the Windsor Star.

Caldwell's Analysis: Unfortunately, the topic that Nowinski brings up has been pushed out of the public spectrum because decision-makers in the media and in pro sports collectively grew tired of discussing it and decided to return to a comfortable existence of ignorance, rather than taking action. When competing for ratings, TV spots on SportsCenter, and entertainment dollars, the short-term thirst for high-impact competition to draw an audience has won out over protecting the athletes providing the competition.

It became a battle of trying to outlast the mainstream media's attention span on this topic after Chris Benoit's death so no one would have to address serious issues. Fortunately, Nowinski is trying to bring this back into the public spectrum, but it probably will take another premature death or a former pro athlete dying at the age of 45 from multiple head trauma in order for this to get any play in the media.

FYI: The Sports Legacy Institute is teaming up with Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. Following the death of Chris Benoit, Nowinski is soliciting athletes to donate their brains post-mortem to study CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Noah Welch of the Florida Panthers and six NFL vets have signed up.

Links: Windstor Star article and Vancouver Sun article.

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