NEW: Hair Transplant Wars Erupt Over Wes Welker’s Move To Denver
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Did Wes Welker leave Patriot Nation because he was embarrassed about his hair transplant? One physician says yes.
Dr. Ryan Welter, founder of New England Center for Hair Restoration and NEhair.com, says that fellow hair restoration physician Dr. Robert Leonard is to blame.
Leonard, owner of Leonard Hair Transplant Associates based in Cranston, RI, performed hair restoration on Welker in July 2012, and the slot receiver has become a defacto spokesman for Leonard's business, appearing in a promotional photo on Leonard's website and offering testimonial. In other words, Welker's head is now under public scrutiny as much as his hands… and that might have been too much pressure for the player.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to Welter, who made his allegations public today, the football player "garnered a great deal of criticism" about his decision to have a cosmetic surgery. "Privacy is important and when you tell the world that you had a transplant, that's a lot of pressure to put out there for everyone to see when the helmet is off. Better get it right the first time. I just hope the added pressure didn't affect his decision," Dr. Welter said.
Leonard laughed off the allegation that Welker's very public move from less to more hair had anything to do with his decamping to Denver. "Absolutely not!" Leonard told GoLocalProv. "Most men are insecure about losing their hair, but Wes is a very handsome guy, very competitive, very self-assured, and just didn't like losing his hair."
"As a consummate Patriots fan, I'm very, very sad that the powers that be in Foxboro were involved in his decision to move to Denver, not his hair transplant."
This is not Leonard's first hair outing in professional sports. In recent years, he has also conducted hair restoration procedures on Mikey Adams, host of WEEI's Planet Mikey Show, and former professional hockey player and current WAAF personality Lyndon Byers. There have been no allegations about their career moves as of yet.
Welker will continue to represent Leonard in advertising and promotion, such as this testimonial on the doctor's website, Leonard confirmed.
