Black Widow
02-29-2008, 08:52 PM
WASHINGTON — Maybe C-SPAN should switch to a pay-per-view format when Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., is on camera.
An argument on the House floor last year between Terry and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., threatened to turn physical.
This week, Terry found himself trading verbal smackdowns with professional wrestler and promoter Vince McMahon.
Commissioners of the major professional sports leagues and players associations testified Wednesday before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee about their efforts to combat steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.
Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said he was disappointed that McMahon had turned down an invitation to appear at the hearing.
Then Terry jumped into the ring and sought to put a congressional body slam on the absent, muscle-bound wrestling magnate.
"Mr. Chairman, you rightfully called out Vince McMahon," Terry said during the hearing. "Someone that flips his finger at this committee or at Congress deserves to be called out."
McMahon, chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, called Terry's Capitol Hill office later in the day, apparently steamed about the comments. The Omaha lawmaker was out of the office at the time.
McMahon issued a public statement calling Terry's comments "inaccurate and unfair."
He said his company has provided more than 3,000 pages of documents to the committee and cooperated with all of its requests and similar requests from a House oversight committee.
McMahon said he could not appear at Wednesday's hearing because his attorney of 20 years, Jerry McDevitt, was representing a client who is on trial in Pennsylvania.
McMahon said he notified the committee well in advance that he would be unable to attend and received no reply.
Terry wasn't backing down from his criticism, however. For starters, he found fault with the reason for McMahon's absence.
"He probably has more than one attorney, so it sounded pretty hollow," Terry said in an interview.
He said McMahon should have been at the hearing and pointed to the problems professional wrestling has faced with steroids.
Anabolic steroids were found in the home of pro wrestler Chris Benoit last year after he killed his wife and 7-year-old son, then hanged himself.
Terry said he doesn't allow his three sons to watch professional wrestling at home, but he noted that many children do watch the programs, talk about them at school and even seek to imitate the performers.
He suggested that steroids in wrestling may represent a bigger problem than in baseball because, he said, evidence of their use is more apparent with wrestlers.
"There's no doubt that the entertainment factor is that they are physically huge freaks — that's part of the show, so there is kind of a belief that steroids are very ubiquitous in the wrestling entertainment industry," Terry said.
Gary Davis, a WWE spokesman, said such comments represent stereotypical assumptions made by people who don't follow professional wrestling.
The company administers year-round unannounced tests, he said, with wrestlers being tested an average of four times a year.
Davis said the testing program is focused on the health and well-being of wrestlers, given that there is little competitive edge to be had in fixed contests.
"Whether one performer is stronger than another performer really doesn't make a difference because there's a story line that's scripted, and the outcome of the match is predetermined," Davis said.
Terry said Thursday that he plans to call McMahon. Davis said McMahon would welcome the call and continue to cooperate with Congress.
A WWE event titled "Judgment Day" is coming to the Qwest Center Omaha in May. McMahon might find himself tempted to issue his own invitation to Terry to join the fun in the "squared circle," but Terry said he would be staying away.
Terry said last year that his chances against Jackson, a martial arts enthusiast, would be nonexistent. He said he would fare about as well if he went toe-to-toe with McMahon.
"He'd just squeeze me and probably — what do they call that — pile me into the floor," Terry said.
omaha.com
An argument on the House floor last year between Terry and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., threatened to turn physical.
This week, Terry found himself trading verbal smackdowns with professional wrestler and promoter Vince McMahon.
Commissioners of the major professional sports leagues and players associations testified Wednesday before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee about their efforts to combat steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.
Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said he was disappointed that McMahon had turned down an invitation to appear at the hearing.
Then Terry jumped into the ring and sought to put a congressional body slam on the absent, muscle-bound wrestling magnate.
"Mr. Chairman, you rightfully called out Vince McMahon," Terry said during the hearing. "Someone that flips his finger at this committee or at Congress deserves to be called out."
McMahon, chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, called Terry's Capitol Hill office later in the day, apparently steamed about the comments. The Omaha lawmaker was out of the office at the time.
McMahon issued a public statement calling Terry's comments "inaccurate and unfair."
He said his company has provided more than 3,000 pages of documents to the committee and cooperated with all of its requests and similar requests from a House oversight committee.
McMahon said he could not appear at Wednesday's hearing because his attorney of 20 years, Jerry McDevitt, was representing a client who is on trial in Pennsylvania.
McMahon said he notified the committee well in advance that he would be unable to attend and received no reply.
Terry wasn't backing down from his criticism, however. For starters, he found fault with the reason for McMahon's absence.
"He probably has more than one attorney, so it sounded pretty hollow," Terry said in an interview.
He said McMahon should have been at the hearing and pointed to the problems professional wrestling has faced with steroids.
Anabolic steroids were found in the home of pro wrestler Chris Benoit last year after he killed his wife and 7-year-old son, then hanged himself.
Terry said he doesn't allow his three sons to watch professional wrestling at home, but he noted that many children do watch the programs, talk about them at school and even seek to imitate the performers.
He suggested that steroids in wrestling may represent a bigger problem than in baseball because, he said, evidence of their use is more apparent with wrestlers.
"There's no doubt that the entertainment factor is that they are physically huge freaks — that's part of the show, so there is kind of a belief that steroids are very ubiquitous in the wrestling entertainment industry," Terry said.
Gary Davis, a WWE spokesman, said such comments represent stereotypical assumptions made by people who don't follow professional wrestling.
The company administers year-round unannounced tests, he said, with wrestlers being tested an average of four times a year.
Davis said the testing program is focused on the health and well-being of wrestlers, given that there is little competitive edge to be had in fixed contests.
"Whether one performer is stronger than another performer really doesn't make a difference because there's a story line that's scripted, and the outcome of the match is predetermined," Davis said.
Terry said Thursday that he plans to call McMahon. Davis said McMahon would welcome the call and continue to cooperate with Congress.
A WWE event titled "Judgment Day" is coming to the Qwest Center Omaha in May. McMahon might find himself tempted to issue his own invitation to Terry to join the fun in the "squared circle," but Terry said he would be staying away.
Terry said last year that his chances against Jackson, a martial arts enthusiast, would be nonexistent. He said he would fare about as well if he went toe-to-toe with McMahon.
"He'd just squeeze me and probably — what do they call that — pile me into the floor," Terry said.
omaha.com