NY Times Article On WWE's Wellness Policy

The New York Times has a article up on the aftermath of the Benoit Double Murder-Suicide tragedy, including quotes from a very prominent WWE board member on the company's drug testing policy. Bob Bowman, CEO of Major League Baseball's Advanced media division is said to be pushing WWE to have an outside party oversee WWE's drug testing for effectiveness.

Bowman questioned whether the standard for passing the drug test needs to be re-evaluated or not. Regarding the baseline set by a third-party company that currently handles the drug testing and Dr. David Black oversees the testing, Bowman said: "Dr. Black says the thresholds are comparable to other leagues, but I don't know if they are. I want to know if the program is appropriate to the issues that confront us now."

Dr. Black revealed some results of their drug testing so far, which began in late 2005. Regarding the first tests done, Black said: "We had a good number of positives (drug failures). A fair number were sent warning letters. The drugs included steroids and a fair number of others."

After the initial testing, Dr. Black said there have been eight more failures, including "several" wrestlers who have failed twice. No wrestler has failed a third time.

Regarding steroid use after being approved by a doctor to help wrestlers rebuild testosterone after years of drug and steroid abuse, Dr. Black said: "They've damaged their ability to make testosterone, so we have to allow the therapy. It's common medical practice. We're dealing with a population of individuals who have harmed their endocrine systems. Is the point of the program to punish them or deny them a livelihood?"

"They've damaged their ability to make testosterone, so we have to allow the therapy. It's common medical practice. We're dealing with a population of individuals who have harmed their endocrine systems. Is the point of the program to punish them or deny them a livelihood?"

To read the full article, click here

Source: PWTorch.com