By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Thursday night's edition of "Nightline" on ABC examined the issue of extensive brain damage among pro athletes, specifically focusing on deceased former WWE wrestler Chris Benoit.

One stand-out item from the report was Dr. Julian Bailes of West Virginia University's neurosciences department concluding that Benoit's case, following his 2007 suicide after murdering his wife and son, remains "one of the worst" they have seen in brain research on pro athletes.

"Chris's damage was extensive. It was replete across multiple areas of the brain," Bailes said. "It remains one the worst we have seen."

The second installment of ABC's "Secrets of Your Mind: Why We Do What We Do" series also included an interview with Michael Benoit, the father of Chris Benoit. Michael said he believes the damage Chris suffered wrestling a hard style and subjecting his body to a nightly, physical pounding in the ring took its toll on him.

"I think if Chris Benoit had been anything other than a professional wrestler ... he would still be alive," Michael said. "I would like people to have an understanding that the tragedy that took place in 2007 happened because of his career choice."

WWE issued a statement in response to ABC News's report and Michael Benoit's statements. ABC reported that "WWE vehemently disagreed with this position and questioned the scientific findings" that Benoit had a brain similar to an 85-year-old man with dementia.

WWE's statement reads: "It is natural that a father would try to come up with a reason why his son would tragically murder his wife and child, and then commit suicide. Based on the study by the Sports Legacy Institute that claimed Chris Benoit had the brain of an 85-year-old with dementia, Mr. Benoit asserts that head trauma was the cause of his son's aberrant, criminal behavior. However, common sense would dictate that this is impossible. Someone with the brain of an 85-year-old with dementia would be unable to keep a traveling work schedule, drive himself to arenas, and perform intricate maneuvers in the ring much less commit a methodical murder-suicide over a 48 hour period."

ABC News's report concludes: "Mike Benoit continues to defend his belief about his son's death and denies that he's using brain damage as an excuse for the murder-suicide."

Caldwell's Analysis: The first thing to look at from WWE's statement is an attempt to twist Michael Benoit's words. WWE is attempting to set up and dispute an argument based on Michael Benoit phantomly asserting that head trauma was the cause of Chris's behavior. That's simply not the case. The research has suggested it could have been a contributor to the events. There's a "cocktail of death" with plenty of different factors in-play, including - but not limited to - testosterone, steroids, and prescription pills. The research on Benoit's brain suggests that severe head trauma from his years in pro wrestling was a potentially significant contributing factor.

The second aspect is that WWE, by way of the person or people in the company who put together this statement, showed they don't even know what the research is. WWE is setting up an argument based on a conclusion that Benoit actually had Alzheimer's disease. Benoit did not have Alzheimer's disease, which would have impaired his ability to do basic tasks and put him in a nursing home. Rather, he was diagnosed with CTE (Chronic Traumatic Enephalopathy), which is a progressive degeneration of brain tissue caused by repeated head trauma (such as chair shots to the head) that show symptoms such as dementia. In most cases, the symptoms are delayed and may not become fully born until a later time in a person's life. Benoit was still able to function, but, as friends reported after his death in 2007, he was showing signs of odd behavior leading up to the Benoit Family Tragedy, which has been linked to the progressive effects of CTE. CTE can eventually progress to dementia. However, CTE is an entirely different disease than Alzheimer's.

Ann McKee, MD, co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), made the important distinction in a research report on former NFL player Lou Creekmur, published in 2009.

"This is an important case because we are confident many CTE cases are misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease. By examining his brain, I was able to confirm that there was absolutely no sign of Alzheimer's disease or any other type of neurodegenerative disease except for severe CTE," she said. "This is the most advanced case of CTE I've seen in a football player; his brain changes were similar to those of profoundly affected professional boxers."

If WWE is going to attempt to dispute the research, then present actual research in opposition. WWE, through these statements, comes across uninformed, defensive, and lacking any sense of accountability. The NFL was in a similar position a few years ago denying the research from Sports Legacy Institute and various clinical brain researchers. It wasn't until they were faced with enough undeniable research that they decided to take the right initial steps addressing concussions and player safety.

As a publicly traded company, WWE lacks necessary transparency with their Wellness Policy in the area of the "Impact" testing and they continue to come across defensive rather than remorseful over any wrestler deaths directly or indirectly tied to the company. Overall, it's another poor p.r. response from WWE that continues to expose their lack of contriteness, sincerity, or even the slightest hint of concern for wrestlers, which should upset every single wrestler who has ever stepped inside WWE's doors followed the company's statements the last two weeks since Lance Cade's death.

[Torch photo credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch.com]

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