Sports Illustrated has a great piece talking to Kelly Klein and Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff about the company’s concussion protocol, and the current situation regarding the two. Klein’s side is well-known, but this is the first time we’ve heard Koff go into detail about the Women of Honor Champion’s concussion and issues with the company.
“The protocol is just this: We recognize the dangers that are inherent in professional wrestling,” said Koff of Ring of Honor’s concussion protocol. “More specifically, the possibility exists of a wrestler suffering a concussion during a match, and we take all injuries very, very seriously. When we are alerted or when we feel there is an injury, we immediately defer to the medical professional on staff.”
Koff then addressed Klein’s concussion. “I wasn’t there, but I was made aware that Kelly did not realize she was concussed until sometime after the match. That hour could very well be a true lapse of time. But as soon as she reported she was concussed, she received immediate attention. Kelly declined the option to go to the hospital at that point. Ring of Honor had management present at the event, including the hired operating agent for the tour. I will tell you that as soon I learned about it, I texted her and she told me she appreciated my text and told me she was fine.”
Later on, Koff discussed Ring of Honor’s decision to block Klein on Twitter, which he says they apologized for and have undone. “That was not a company decision,” said Koff. “It was a lapse of judgment from one of our administrators who emotionally wanted to prevent our company from further attack. We never would condone this, and we apologized immediately privately to Kelly and remedied the situation as soon as I found out about it.”
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