Warner Bros. had concerns over airing of Power Slap League after Dana White slapped his wife

On January 18, Dana White's Power Slap League made its television premiere on TBS, an American pay television network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks (WBD). The original broadcast date of January 11, 2023, was pushed back a week after evidence surfaced of White slapping his wife at a New Year's Eve party in a Mexican nightclub.

The brutality of slap fighting, low compensation for competitors, and declining viewership have all been condemned, adding to the problems facing White's latest venture, The Power Slap League.

On top of that, U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. and Don Bacon, worried about the brutality of slap fighting, addressed letters to Warner Bros. and TBS, the network that hosts the program. They questioned the absence of disclaimers and information regarding the implications of being knocked out.

Needless to say, any criticism leveled at any of the shows airing on their channels will have repercussions for the network as a whole, and Dana White's Power Slap League is no exception to this norm.

While discussing the future of Dana White's Power Slap League on a recent panel with Deadline, Warner Bros. Discovery's chairman and head creative officer Kathleen Finch revealed that there was some trepidation:

“Of course. Yes. This is an experiment. The goal is, we are making shows for our fans, that’s who we work for. Fans of wrestling have a lot of overlap with the fans of this and it’s huge on social media so the idea really is, if we can take something that’s huge on social, bring it to a linear audience giving the fans what they want."

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Why did Sean O'Malley say that he cannot watch Dana White's Power Slap League?

Fight fans have responded inconsistently to the Power Slap League created by Dana White. While some are thoroughly enjoying the new format, others have claimed that it is not their cup of tea. UFC bantamweight contender Sean O'Malley is part of the latter group.

Dr. Bennet Omalu, the world's foremost specialist in CTE research, has called the sport extremely unsafe given the permanent brain damage competitors risk.

Bearing all that in mind, Sean O'Malley spoke on his YouTube channel as to why he cannot watch the Power Slap League:

“It’s weird because some people just love it. I could see maybe watching the TV series part of it like ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ like them at the house, meeting them, seeing their back stories. But the actual ‘sport,’ whatever you wanna call it, itself, I can’t watch.”

He added:

“I cannot watch it. I don’t know if it’s I can’t watch it, because I understand what concussions are. I understand [that] I’ve been through them. I know how bad it is to do that to your brain. … I can’t even see it.”

Check out the full video below: