Jailed Roman Reigns Accuser Explains How Reigns Avoided Testing Positive For Substance Abuse
As noted, Richard Rodriguez, former owner of the Iron Addicts Gym in Miami, was interviewed by Jon Bravo and revealed that Roman Reigns was one of his clients in a steroid distribution ring. His gym was raided in February of 2017, and Rodriguez is now serving time in prison. Rodriguez agreed to inform Bravo of these inner-workings to clear his name and inform others of who else was involved in the distribution. Reigns was also one of three people named in order for Rodriguez to get a better plea deal.
A statement was sent to Wrestling Inc. from Reigns, stating, "I have never heard of Richard Rodriguez or Wellness Fitness Nutrition. I learned from the mistake I made nearly two years ago and paid the penalty for it. Since then, I've passed 11 tests as part of WWE's independent drug testing program."
In a following video, Rodriguez said that he will provide snippets of proof via text messages, tracking numbers and addresses where products were shipped that will be tied to each of the accused culprits. Rodriguez added, "That information with us communicating with Roman via text messages will be provided to the appropriate party, which will then be disclosed prior to our documentary that's going to be filmed soon."
Rodriguez had implicated Reigns, as well as actors Mark Wahlberg and Josh Duhamel, as clients of his. In the latest video above, Rodriguez provided emails and phone records of Duhamel and said that he will present evidence on Reigns in their next video. He also explained how certain substances purchased by athletes are used in ways that could avoid failing drug tests.
"Depending on individuals' professions, let's give an example, basketball players, football players, wrestlers, or even regular public figures and celebrities, they all go through constant scrutiny from their followers, and even undergo rigorous testing to search for [testosterone and HGH] constantly in their bodies," said Rodriguez. "Hence why, they take people like me, and others very well to secure that they know these procedures, and ensure that they pass them with flying colors. So often times, people might take shorter estures like a suspension-based product so it could be out of their system prior to being tested."
Rodriguez added that the patients that his company used to work with depended on finding these holes in the policy, "because, while they wanted to have that competitive edge in their profession, they also wanted to maintain their cash flow."
Bravo stated in the video that discloses Reigns' communication with Rodriguez, Reigns' orders "contained a lot of products that were not meant for human consumption." Rodriguez responded by explaining why Reigns would deny these allegations.
"Well, we all know that WWE is a publicly traded company and they claim to possess some of the most strict testing requirements for their athletes," said Rodriguez. "However, the harsh reality is those kind of physiques are never attainable without drugs." He added, "you cannot walk around 250-plus pounds, four percent body fat, without using [substances]. Hence why it's sad to see these kind of people that are considered role models mislead the public and their followers.
"Having worked with various wrestlers and people in other fields that are similar, one would deny utilization of these substances 100 percent of the time in hopes of salvaging their livelihood because they have nothing else going for themselves. You have to understand that many of these people expect to have a very short lifespan, first and foremost, on their profession and spending their entire life mastering one aspect of their lives. So, if they're wrestlers, they are only great wrestlers. So, it's imperative for them to ride it out as long as possible."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Jon Bravo with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.