When Joe Rogan explained difference between narratives of CTE risks for NFL players vs. MMA fighters: "In football, it was never known"

In a past episode of his popular podcast, Joe Rogan broke down why the narrative around concussions in football seems to be different from fighting. In MMA and boxing, fighters always knew the risks, with legends like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier showing the brutal cost of taking punches for a living.

According to Rogan, football players didn’t truly understand the long-term risks. He also claimed that the NFL allegedly buried studies linking football to CTE, even intimidating scientists who tried to expose the truth. It wasn’t until years later that lawsuits started piling up, accusing the league of hiding evidence while players unknowingly sacrificed their futures.

Speaking on episode #1920 of The Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC color commentator said:

"In football, it was never known. I think in football it was never known, whereas in boxing it was always punch drunk. Everybody always knew about it. So I think you thought going into it that this was a risk that you were taking if you wanted to be a fighter. Everybody saw what happened to Muhammad Ali. Everybody saw Joe Frazier at the end of his career. Everybody saw all these guys who could barely talk who used to be these great, great fighters."

He added:

"I believe they buried the surveys. I've had my issues with the NFL. I think they're maybe the most powerful group there is. You gotta slant it like it's new information. Like, 'We didn't know that, so how can you hold us responsible?' If they can prove, 'Well, you did know that, and you hid it,' then I think you had a lot of issues. I think with football it's probably even more pronounced because if you think about what they're doing, they're running full clip into each other."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below:

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Joe Rogan talks about the success of comedians like Theo Von and Tim Dillon

Joe Rogan recently broke down how comedians like Theo Von and Tim Dillon made it big without Hollywood. In Episode #2310 of his podcast with Robert Rodriguez, Rogan said the internet opened the door for unconventional comics who didn’t fit the old late-night TV mould.

Instead of chasing network approval, they built huge online audiences by being themselves. Rogan compared it to the 1980s, when only a few comics like Steve Martin could fill arenas. He said:

"What happened was the internet came along, and a bunch of unconventional people became very famous without the help of Hollywood. People like the Tim Dillons of the world that don’t fit into the television box but can go Buck Wild online, it’s incredible."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (1:36:00):