Minister Gayton McKenzie has promised to introduce a risky sport to the country next year- Power Slap – and many South Africans are concerned.
The Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture – who has previously defended his decision to legalise car spinning – made the announcement on his popular X account.
GAYTON MCKENZIE PROMISES DEADLY SPORT
After meeting UFC founder Dana White last month, Gayton McKenzie recently revealed that he had been in talks to bring the CEO’s other sport – Power Slap – to South Africa.
He tweeted: “This sport is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Power Slap is truly going everywhere. I am glad that it’s coming to South Africa next year. I do believe we have more champions here at home soon.”
The Power Slap contest sees two opponents deliver open-handed, full-force slaps to each other’s faces in a bid to win a title. According to the rules, those being slapped may not flinch, raise their shoulder, or tuck in their chins. They have 60 seconds to “recover” from the slap, which often ends in knock-outs or loss of consciousness. Alarmingly, no protective headgear is worn.
Despite the popularity of the sport online, the minister’s announcement had many social media users concerned about the safety aspect of the sport.
@VRA2021: “This is the cause of brain trauma and Parkinson’s. It’s the dumbest thing ever”.
@lln1982: “Have you checked the health consequences (immediate & latent) of these power slaps? Facial paralysis, bells palsy, whiplash, TMJ & upper spinal injuries are some of the side effects of ridiculous sporting activity.”
@simplitate1: “I would not recommend anybody’s child to do this. Or any human being, for that matter. This is not a sport, and our government shouldn’t be encouraging citizens to irrecoverably damage their health like this!”
DANGERS OF POWER SLAP
According to several experts, the Power Slap sport and other variations have detrimental health risks.
They include:
- Severe concussions and irreparable neurological damage
- Internal brain bleeds.
- Hearing loss
- Seizures
- Death
In an open letter calling for Power Slap to be banned, neurologist Dr Gregory O’Shanick wrote: “There will be deaths from this, there is no doubt. There will be deaths.”
According to the BBC, Polish Power Slap fighter Artur Walczak suffered a brain bleed during a match in 2021 in which he was knocked out and lost consciousness.
He died weeks later of multiple organ failure linked to his head injury.
IS GAYTON MCKENZIE’S LATEST POWER SLAP PROMISE A RESPONSIBLE ONE?
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