(2009 JG Note: I originally wrote this column years ago before I had even created WorldWrestlingInsanity.com. It was the day after Crash Holly had passed away and I remember being frustrated with some of the coverage it got from the wrestling "media." I hadn't really looked at it in a few years and expected that when I opened it up today, there would be a number of things I had changed my mind about since talking to many within the industry over the past six years. Ironically enough, there weren't. In fact, I feel just as strongly, if not more, about the points I make here. The only thing that has changed is that WWE now implements drug testing. Sadly, those who I call out for trying politicize the wrestling/drugs debate are still doing their thing, which is fine. But the points I made here still hold true today and will hold true tomorrow. I felt it was important to repost this and remind us all that there's a whole-wide world outside this wrestling bubble. )
Originally Published: November 7, 2003
Before anything I want to point out that this "Take" isn't in response to any of wrestling's recent losses. It's a subject I've felt strongly about for some time and wanted to speak about. It's something I needed to explain my point on.
Professional wrestling has a drug problem. It's a subject that has opened the doors for debate and conflict, inducing emotional arguments on both ends. The argument goes that sports entertainment, in its current incarnation, is almost impossible to be a strong part of without some sort of drug usage. Stars can't recover without painkillers and they can't get that much-needed big money physique without steroids. Any athlete that doesn't partake in these habits will most likely make less money and never be the main-eventer that they dream of being. When the narcotics catch up to them and they pass away, we search for someone to blame. Fingers are pointed everywhere. But why do we even have to point fingers at all?
Drugs aren't simply a problem in wrestling, they're a problem everywhere. In the last decade or two, many painkillers and other non-recreational drugs have seeped their way into the mainstream. Kids today aren't just dropping acid or eating mushrooms for the psychedelic experience anymore. There are other harmful chemicals that people find "useful" in other aspects of life.
For the sake of example, let's talk about college kids. Sure, students in dorm rooms may do ecstasy or marijuana for the recreational purpose it serves. But that's not all they're doing. What about the kid that's popping Aderol to stay awake for mid-term studying? Or the grad student that sniffs lines of Ritalin with the intention of using the drug's effects to focus on his upcoming student project? Much as wrestlers rely on steroids and painkillers to get them to the next level of sports entertainment, these scholars use drugs to bring them to the next level of their academics.
The difference is that while we are all so ready to put the blame on major promotions or Vince McMahon for the habits of wrestlers, no one is ready to blame the colleges and universities for the habits of its overzealous students. To me, there's really no difference. No one forced any undersized wrestler into this business, just like no one forced any unfocused student into a college. If you join wrestling without the proper genetics to achieve the "look" then you have to know that the subject of drugs will come up eventually. You also have to know how you would choose to deal with it when it does.
You can say that it's impossible for some performers to achieve the body that is necessary for wrestling stardom without steroids since they might lack the genetics. How could they compete on the same level of someone who's bigger than them? Don't these men have a right to earn a living? You may be right. However it's equally impossible for some kids to be able to advance to the next level of schooling without drugs to help them focus since they lack the discipline or attention span to fully concentrate. How can they compete on the same level of students that may be more focused or smarter than them? Don't these people have a right to achieve high grades? To me it's the same. When someone feels that they can't succeed based solely on their God-given talents, they turn to drugs. It's something that occurs in every career or calling.
You can blame Vince McMahon for making the current batch of fans infatuated with the muscle-bound superman performers. If that's the case, we should blame the colleges and state mandated tests for being so hard. But Vince McMahon doesn't give legit drug tests? Find me a university that makes it's strung out seniors urinate in a cup before final exams and I'll concede this point.
Anyone who's read my articles knows that I love to blame Vince McMahon for things. There are a lot of things that are his fault. He pushes his family. He's arrogant in public settings. He could care less about those that aren't in his circle. But he's never made anyone do anything they didn't know the risks of prior.
Just to clarify, I'm not being cold or callous. If anything, this subject hits close to home for me. I've had friends pass away at young ages from drugs, alcohol or just plain accidents. It's inconceivable to fathom how a God in heaven could take someone from us so young. When tragedies occur, people want to find someone to blame. They search for someone to point fingers at. It makes it an easier pill to swallow. But in doing so, we create false worlds where wrestlers are injecting themselves while crying because it's someone else's choice. That's not the case.
The irony of all this is that many of these people who made their decisions to use outside substances to advance and paid the price wouldn't want us to blame others. They spent their entire lives trying to gain control over their demons. Even in death, we've taken away that control, portraying them as jellyfish that did something they were dead-set against to please their boss. We've looked at their lives as contentions for the anti-McMahon debate. It was their decisions to put the drugs in their bodies. They made those choices and they paid the price. I, like all of you, wish they hadn't. I wish they were still with their families and friends. But that's not what happened. The risks that they were aware of the entire time finally caught up to them.
There are some other arguments that come up when dealing with drugs in wrestling that are just off-the-charts offensive. Wrestling journalists, ever ready to distance themselves from the "marks" of the world although they are both one in the same, are ready to blame fans for these problems as well. "If you didn't pay to see them, they wouldn't do drugs." Come on. That's like blaming the country of Canada for Ben Johnson doing steroids in the '88 Olympics. After all, Canadians, he was trying to win the gold for you. Silly, right?
I pray for all the superstars that were taken from us at a young age. My heart goes out to their families and friends. However, this problem will not stop until the public and wrestling media stops shifting the blame every time someone passes away. As we all know, sports entertainers are big on the public perception of them. If performers knew that they were accountable for their own actions, maybe they would think twice before injecting themselves.
The only thing I can really say is that wrestlers doing steroids or sleeping pills to get through one more night is no different than a student popping Ritalin to study or a coked up stockbroker trying to keep the enthusiasm up or a salesman taking a swig of Jack Daniels to be more gregarious for the next prospect or…you get the point. All of these stories are tragic. They all involve people doing drugs to get an advantage in their chosen vocation. There is one other similarity too.
They are all choices.
