Professional wrestling needs to get real about steroids.
It will have to when a congressional subcommittee holds hearings on the subject later this month. Two weeks ago, World Wrestling Entertainment suspended 11 wrestlers for violating its “wellness” policy.
Gone are the days of Hulkamaniacs “saying prayers and taking vitamins.” It seems nowadays that the dirty little secret about wrestlers taking steroids is out in the open for everyone to hear. (Couldn’t you tell?)
So much for the good guys …
But, this isn’t the first time wrestling has been in the spotlight for steroids.
Remember back in 1991 when Dr. George T. Zahorian was convicted of selling steroids to pro wrestlers. It prompted a federal investigation into Vince McMahon’s wrestling empire. McMahon admitted to buying performance enhancement substances from Zahorian but denied distributing to his wrestlers.
Fast forward to the present.
According to the Associated Press, the WWE said it suspended the wrestlers based on information from the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney’s office. The DA’s office has been investigating sales of steroids and human growth hormones through Internet and phone-order firms, including Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Fla. – named in a recent Sports Illustrated report as a major supplier of illegal drugs to pro wrestlers, among others.
This comes on the heels of the recent deaths of former WWE stars Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Brian “Crush” Adams, who have all died since 2005. All were named by SI as clients of the pharmacy. Benoit killed his fellow-wrestler and wife and 7-year-old son before hanging himself in June. The murder-suicide was believed to have been prompted by prolonged steroid use.
It sounds all too familiar.
Was the negative publicity generated by Benoit the final straw in finally realizing that steroid use is affecting the lives of many who step into the squared circle even after their careers have finished?
It shouldn’t take tragedies to prompt action. (Where have we heard that before?) This mess could have been solved 16 years ago with McMahon putting a firm substance abuse policy in place.
Dave Meltzer, founder and editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, recently compiled a list of current and former wrestlers who have died since 1997, before turning 50. The list ran to 60 wrestlers, dying from car accidents, suicides and drug overdoses; the rest of the deaths, he told the Washington Post, are linked to heart ailments (a side effect of steroids).
Coincidence?
Unlike other sports, performance-enhancing drugs aren’t used in wrestling to cheat or gain an unfair advantage, since it is a theatrical act with winners pre-determined. The usage is cosmetic rather than performance based.
Pro wrestlers perform year round without a break and travel across the country while lifting 300-pound men and taking hits on the mat every night. Oh, by the way, their job description calls for a freakish physique. That expectation and wear and tear on the body call for a pick-me-up, whether a hormone or a steroid. Combine all those elements and the effects are very real – sometimes resulting in death.
Whether we like it or not, pro wrestling is profitable and popular – especially among young men and impressionable teens. The suspensions by the WWE have been long over due and are a step in the right direction in educating viewers and sending a message to everyone backstage.
But it’s not enough.
These performers should be extensively tested and find alternate means to deal with the rigors of the profession.
Wrestling cannot go on with this charade … it is matter of life and death.