Roid rage

 Having a teenage son, and Foxtel, we do get a laugh out of the WWE wrestling every now and then, and of course they’ve been in the news this week with one of their wrestlers, Chris Benoit, committing suicide after first killing his wife and son over last weekend, in what from all reports was a quite bizarre sequence of events.

The thing I found amusing about this tragedy was the vehement denials by the WWE that Benoit may have acted in a “roid rage” brought on by abusing anabolic steroids.  To quote them:

….WWE is concerned with the sensationalistic reporting and speculation being undertaken by some members of the media following the press conference held by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney. During the press conference, the investigating authorities made the following points, all of which run contrary to the media speculation that “roid rage” was a factor in the senseless murders and suicide:

1. The authorities stated that all drugs found in the house were believed to be legal prescriptions.

2. Steroids were not, and could not, be related to the cause of death (asphyxiation).  Authorities had no factual basis to speculate as to Benoit’s state of mind, and rightly did not do so.

3. Toxicology tests have not even been completed, so there is no current evidence that Benoit even had steroids or any other substance in his body. In that regard, on the last test done on Benoit by WWE’s independently administered drug testing program, done on April 10, 2007, Benoit tested negative.

4. The physical findings announced by authorities indicate deliberation, not rage. The wife’s feet and hands were bound and she was asphyxiated, not beaten to death. By the account of the authorities, there were substantial periods of time between the death of the wife and the death of the son, again suggesting deliberate thought, not rage. The presence of a Bible by each is also not an act of rage.

5. WWE strongly suggests that it is entirely wrong for speculators to suggest that steroids had anything to do with these senseless acts, especially when the authorities plainly stated there is no evidence that Benoit had steroids in his body, pending the toxicological reports, and that they had no evidence at this time as to the motive for these acts.

You think they might be a bit sensitive that people might get the idea that their wrestlers use steroids to achieve their physiques (thats the muscly ones, some of the wrestlers are actually just fat) …. or even that people might draw the inference that perhaps WWE might tacitly condone their use, or even encourage it.

Interesting statement by the WWE anyway.  And quite possibly irrelevant to the case.  According to medical experts, as well as the well known rage steroids can cause,  they can also contribute to deep depression.  Dr. Todd Schlifstein, a clinical assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine said:

“Just as you have the extreme high of when you’re on steroids, you can get the opposite,”

“You can have a dramatic difference in mood swings. You can feel there’s no hope, there’s no future.”

Another thing embarassing the WWE is no doubt the 3 hour tribute program for Benoit they aired on Monday after the family’s bodies were found, but before the revelations of how they had been killed.  Oops, premature tribute …..