MMA News Forums » MMA Forums » General MMA Forum

[BUKKAKALYPSE]

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion and former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar has slammed the Canadian health care system, referring to it as being like a Third World country, in a press conference announcing his return from diverticulitis Wednesday.


Lesnar had felt unwell for some time when he was struck down in a hunting lodge in a location he refused to disclose, only to state it was three hours from the nearest medical facility.


That unnamed medical centre wasn't up to the fighter's standards.


"I love Canada," said Lesnar. "Some of the best people and best hunting in the world, but I wasn't in the right facility."


"They couldn't do nothing for me," he added. "It was like I was in a Third World country, I just looked at my wife and she saved my life and I had to get out of there."


Lesnar's wife, former WWE wrestler Sable, took the 6-3, 285-pound giant away from the medical facility in "excruciating pain" and "drove 100 mph" across the border to Bismarck, North Dakota.


"That doctor there saved my career and saved my life," he said. "That's when I made a phone call to Dana, cussing him out and told him to send a jet for me."


Lesnar refused to disclose whether the Canadian facility that he felt was inadequate was a major city hospital or a rural outpost, but claimed that the care he received in the United States, and later at the prestigious Mayo Clinic, was far superior and thus was evidence that the U.S. health care system is the best in the world.


Lesnar, who has his own health insurance but also benefits from coverage paid for by the UFC, said "I'm just stating the facts; I love Canada, I own property in Canada but if I had to choose between getting care in Canada or the United States, I'd choose the United States."


"I hate to bash them but, I'm not one to get into the political side of things but our health care system is a little radical — we have the best doctors in the world. Our system does need some restructuring but I don't believe a total reform is the answer."


Diverticulitis is a condition that happens when diverticulosis forms on the outside of the colon and becomes inflamed. In Lesnar's case, his intestine became perforated, which had meant his system was being slowly poisoned from within.


Lesnar said he hadn't felt well for a month and, while relaxing in his lodge, "it just climaxed and the perforation happened. I woke up in shock, in a cold sweat. I didn't know where I was and realized I had to seek medical help."


"I was out in the boondocks up there, so it was about three hours from what I thought would be a good medical facility."


The condition came about, says Lesnar, from an all-protein diet.


"I'm a carnivore. I'm not a big fan of PETA. I'm a member of the NRA and whatever I kill, I eat. And basically I was just, for years, surviving on meat and potatoes and when the greens came by, I just kept passing them."


The controversial champion, who calls himself a "conservative Republican," used his experience to launch a tirade against U.S. health care reform efforts by President Barack Obama.


"The only reason I'm mentioning this, I'm mentioning it to the United States of America because President Obama is looking for health care reform and I don't want it ... I'm speaking on behalf of millions of Americans, the doctors of the United States don't want this to happen and neither do I."


Lesnar admitted that comparing the facilities at the Mayo with what may well have been a small private clinic in the Alberta wilderness might not be the best way to compare two national health care systems, saying, "I think it was just under the circumstances, the hospital I was at, it wasn't their fault. They had machinery that wasn't working, wasn't doing it's job. I couldn't have it done so I went to where we could have it done."


Looking forward to the maelstrom his words are likely to cause north of the border, Lesnar said, "This thing's going to take on a beat of its own, but coming from the Mayo Clinic, some of the best doctors in the world, people come from across the world to be at this clinic ... we have the best hospital in the world at the Mayo Clinic."


At the end of the press conference, Lesnar was forced to admit that his US health care adventure wasn't all perfect, telling reporters that he was initially misdiagnosed - he thinks - with a case of mononucleosis.


"It was my fault because they did want to do a CT scan on me and I didn't want to do it. It's my fault for being misdiagnosed. I did test positive, I believe, for mononucleosis - I don't know where the hell I got that from. We all carry it in our body anyways and maybe it was just because my body was trying to reach out."


He then backtracked on his anti-Canadian health care statements by placing it as the same level as Puerto Rico (which is a U.S. territory) and Thailand.


"I'm not bashing the Canadian health care," said Lesnar. "I'm not bashing it at all. I'm a U.S. citizen, it just so happened I was in Canada. If I had been in Thailand or Puerto Rico, I would want to get back in the U.S. for my health care, you know? The reason I'm saying that is becuase there's millions of people that don't want health care reform and I'm one of them. Does it need some restructuring a little bit? Yeah, but not a total reform .... I'm not a believer in socialism and I don't want that going on."

Source:

UFC's Brock Lesnar says Canadian health care like 'a Third World country'

So Brock, would you get into the Mayo if you weren't rich?

Edit: MODS please move/delete if this is in the wrong section.

[Northman]

True, true, true. But as Canadian I would say "at least it is free!"...

[GL Jeff]

"I was out in the boondocks up there, so it was about three hours from what I thought would be a good medical facility."

Canada's health care is far from third world.If your out in the middle of nowhere and drive to a small town, or even a small city, of course your going to get regular or even sub-par health care. But thats everywhere in the world, even more so in the states. Now I'm not going to get into the whole argument about who has the better health care, but I know for a fact that Brock wasnt in a major cities hospital.

[tig]

Originally Posted by Northman

True, true, true. But as Canadian I would say "at least it is free!"...

Free? Do the people doing the medical jobs in Canada not charge anything for their services? They do it for fun or what? Or do you mean that everyone pays through taxes so you just consider it free? We don't pay to drive on the roads everytime we use them, but the roads are not free, we pay for them through taxes. And since most governments are alot worse at business practices than the private sector, then anything the government provides is much more expensive in the long run.

Are you sure the substandard medical services you get are completely and utterly free? My bet is they are not.

[v3xi]

I went to a McDonalds in NY state once and took one bite of the burger and said "Wow, all the food in the United States of America is complete shit."

I then helicoptered back to Canada to tell everyone about it.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Originally Posted by tig

Free? Do the people doing the medical jobs in Canada not charge anything for their services? They do it for fun or what? Or do you mean that everyone pays through taxes so you just consider it free? We don't pay to drive on the roads everytime we use them, but the roads are not free, we pay for them through taxes. And since most governments are alot worse at business practices than the private sector, then anything the government provides is much more expensive in the long run.

Are you sure the substandard medical services you get are completely and utterly free? My bet is they are not.

You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Neither does Brock Lesnar.

When you get sick in Canada, they treat you and you get better and it's more or less free. You don't get taxed out the ass, you don't wind up in debt and when you need it, it's there. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But everyone who needs care, gets care and people here aren't judged by paylevel. This is just ignorant, oblivious, elitist, right-winged garbage.

[Lok Bresnar]

Ah! So Brock Lesnar is human after all. Even he gets sick like the rest of us. Coooooool......

[stevequalude]

wow maybe this should be in politics forum

[Lok Bresnar]

Originally Posted by v3xi

I went to a McDonalds in NY state once and took one bite of the burger and said "Wow, all the food in the United States of America is complete shit."

I then helicoptered back to Canada to tell everyone about it.

You go, guy!!!!!

[tucker50]

Ya I don't really like to get into this Health Care debate too much, but I do know that if I go to the hospital with a bullet in my stomach or something, I don't need as insurance card for them to treat me. I don't mind paying for health care, whether its through taxes or monthly bills, I just want them to treat me when I need it. That's the way it is in Canada, not so in the US.
Anyways, I'm kinda glad Lesnar is back because I would like to see Mir or Carwin send him back to the hospital.