LionDen
07-28-2007, 09:29 AM
World Wrestling Entertainment's Vince McMahon was asked in a letter dated today to provide records pertaining to World Wrestling Entertainment's drug testing policies by the two congressmen responsible for conducting steroid hearings into Major League Baseball, according to an article published on ESPN.com this afternoon.
Rep. Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Tom Davis, its ranking minority member, wrote McMahon requesting, "a series of documents intended to give the committee and its investigation a detailed look at WWE's drug-testing policy, including information about the results of performance-enhancing drug tests on pro wrestlers."
Excerpts from the letter according to the article include:
"The tragic deaths of World Wrestling Entertainment star Chris Benoit and his family have raised questions about reports of widespread use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by professional wrestlers.
"These allegations -- which include first-hand reports of steroid use by prominent former wrestlers -- have swirled around the WWE for over a decade. Investigations by journalists have described a culture of performance-enhancing drug use in professional wrestling, high fatality rates among young professional wrestlers, and an inability or unwillingness of WWE to address these problems."
"WWE has a responsibility to do everything possible to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs -- or the perception of such use -- by its wrestlers."
ESPN.com reported that the requests in the letter are similar to what was asked of Major League Baseball by Congress during its investigation into MLB and included requests for:
*A listing of drugs covered by WWE's policies.
*The entity [this would be Aegis Science, headed by Dr. David Black] that conducts its drug testing, details on the number of tests it conducts annually and how many wrestlers are tested during the period.
*The protocols WWE follows after positive drug tests
*Procedures that lead to exemptions of positive tests.
ESPN.com also reports that WWE has been asked to provide results of any investigations WWE has prepared in regard to the deaths, injuries, or illnesses of "current or former professional wrestlers that may have been related to the use of steroids." as well as "all communications between [WWE] and outside entities including communications with health care professionals or law enforcement authorities, regarding allegations of drug use by wrestlers."
---------------------------------------------------------
WWE's reply that was made public is this:
On their corporate website, World Wrestling Entertainment posted the following:
July 27, 2007
WWE Statement On Congressional Letter
The media has provided us with a copy of a letter from the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. We are reviewing this letter and will respond accordingly.
---------------------------------------------------------
The Associated Press ran the following article this evening:
Wrestler's Death Draws Lawmakers' Query
Committee Asks WWE for Drug Policy Information Following Wrestler's Death
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The murder-suicide deaths of wrestler Chris Benoit and his family led a House committee Friday to ask World Wrestling Entertainment to turn over any information it has on steroid and drug abuse in pro wrestling.
The deaths "have raised questions about reports of widespread use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by professional wrestlers," a letter released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said.
The committee's leaders, chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and ranking Republican Tom Davis of Virginia, want a response by Aug. 24.
"The media has provided us with a copy of a letter from the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform," WWE officials said Friday. "We are reviewing this letter and will respond accordingly."
Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, placed Bibles next to their bodies and then hanged himself on the cable of a weight machine, authorities said. The three were found dead in their Atlanta-area home June 25.
After the slayings, prescription anabolic steroids were found in the family's home, raising questions about whether the drugs played a role in the killings.
Congress has been investigating steroid use in sports for years.
Rep. Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Tom Davis, its ranking minority member, wrote McMahon requesting, "a series of documents intended to give the committee and its investigation a detailed look at WWE's drug-testing policy, including information about the results of performance-enhancing drug tests on pro wrestlers."
Excerpts from the letter according to the article include:
"The tragic deaths of World Wrestling Entertainment star Chris Benoit and his family have raised questions about reports of widespread use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by professional wrestlers.
"These allegations -- which include first-hand reports of steroid use by prominent former wrestlers -- have swirled around the WWE for over a decade. Investigations by journalists have described a culture of performance-enhancing drug use in professional wrestling, high fatality rates among young professional wrestlers, and an inability or unwillingness of WWE to address these problems."
"WWE has a responsibility to do everything possible to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs -- or the perception of such use -- by its wrestlers."
ESPN.com reported that the requests in the letter are similar to what was asked of Major League Baseball by Congress during its investigation into MLB and included requests for:
*A listing of drugs covered by WWE's policies.
*The entity [this would be Aegis Science, headed by Dr. David Black] that conducts its drug testing, details on the number of tests it conducts annually and how many wrestlers are tested during the period.
*The protocols WWE follows after positive drug tests
*Procedures that lead to exemptions of positive tests.
ESPN.com also reports that WWE has been asked to provide results of any investigations WWE has prepared in regard to the deaths, injuries, or illnesses of "current or former professional wrestlers that may have been related to the use of steroids." as well as "all communications between [WWE] and outside entities including communications with health care professionals or law enforcement authorities, regarding allegations of drug use by wrestlers."
---------------------------------------------------------
WWE's reply that was made public is this:
On their corporate website, World Wrestling Entertainment posted the following:
July 27, 2007
WWE Statement On Congressional Letter
The media has provided us with a copy of a letter from the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. We are reviewing this letter and will respond accordingly.
---------------------------------------------------------
The Associated Press ran the following article this evening:
Wrestler's Death Draws Lawmakers' Query
Committee Asks WWE for Drug Policy Information Following Wrestler's Death
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The murder-suicide deaths of wrestler Chris Benoit and his family led a House committee Friday to ask World Wrestling Entertainment to turn over any information it has on steroid and drug abuse in pro wrestling.
The deaths "have raised questions about reports of widespread use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by professional wrestlers," a letter released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said.
The committee's leaders, chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and ranking Republican Tom Davis of Virginia, want a response by Aug. 24.
"The media has provided us with a copy of a letter from the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform," WWE officials said Friday. "We are reviewing this letter and will respond accordingly."
Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, placed Bibles next to their bodies and then hanged himself on the cable of a weight machine, authorities said. The three were found dead in their Atlanta-area home June 25.
After the slayings, prescription anabolic steroids were found in the family's home, raising questions about whether the drugs played a role in the killings.
Congress has been investigating steroid use in sports for years.