DISMISSED

60 Former Wrestlers’ Concussion Lawsuit Against WWE Thrown Out

A Connecticut federal judge called the claims “frivolous” when tossing out the case earlier this week.

A Connecticut federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by 60 former professional wrestlers who claimed that World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., knew about the medical trauma that repeated head injuries can cause but did not warn the athletes. The Associated Press reports U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant threw out the suit Monday, ruling that the “claims were frivolous” or filed past the statute of limitations. She also said there was no evidence to suggest the WWE knew that “head blows” in the wrestling ring caused long-term health problems like the degenerative brain disease CTE. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Konstantine Kyros, argued that it was not too late to file these claims because many of the wrestlers didn’t discover the health issues until long after they retired from wrestling. Some of the wrestlers were diagnosed with CTE post-mortem, he said, and a number currently have “dementia and other illnesses.” Kyros said he would appeal the case to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. The National Football League and the National Hockey League have also been sued by former players who suffered from head injuries. The NFL settled for $1 billion, and the NHL case is pending.