It has been announced that former WWE wrestler James ‘Kamala’ Harris will be studied for CTE. Kamala, who died of Covid-19 related complications last week, was part of a lawsuit against WWE seeking help for neurological injuries he sustained wrestling. He along with many of the wrestlers in the lawsuit pledged to donate their brains for a study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy “CTE” in professional wrestling. Kamala’s final appeal was argued in June 2020 and is currently pending in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.
Kamala, the “Ugandan Giant” at 6’7″ 380 pounds was known around the world wrestling for WWE. At the height of his career in the 1980s-90s he was in numerous matches with other heavyweights such as Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and Andre the Giant.
According to the lawsuit, Harris wrestled for WWE “300 nights a year,” yet was classified by WWE as an independent contractor. After his WWE career Harris was unable to pay for his medical care and received Medicaid – diabetes eventually claimed both of his legs. A double amputee, he sought to assert his legal rights against WWE for healthcare and help for head injuries he alleged he sustained in the ring. WWE fought his claims calling the lawsuit “frivolous.”
Kamala’s family hopes that his brain donation will help the next generation of wrestlers and bring needed help to the thousands of former WWE wrestlers left without adequate access to healthcare and treatments for head injuries.
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