Wrestling & Sports, Steroids or HGH & Doctor Prescriptions

[ztwhite]

By now, everyone should have heard about Kurt Angle getting busted with HGH in his car back in MY hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. To digress just a bit, when I lived there, I actually went to that Starbucks numerous times at Robinson Town Center and never seen Rhaka Khan or Kurt Angle.

Anywho... supposedly, Angle had a script for the HGH from a doctor and unless I'm completely off base, that makes his possession and use of the drug legal.

Personally, I don't care what a wrestler puts into his body or any other athlete for that matter - whether it's roids or HGH. I think it makes sports that much more entertaining. Baseball players hit balls farther, sprinters run faster, football players hit harder, wrestlers look bigger and more intimidating, etc... PLEASE DO NOT VEER OFF THE EVENTUAL THREAD QUESTION AND DISCUSS YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT ROIDS OR HGH - I simply stated my opinion off the bat in order to fully develop the thread.

With all the deaths that have occured in wrestling due to drug use (by this, I mean roids or HGH) and with the WWE cracking down with their wellness policy, should wrestlers have to use a company approved doctor ??

Even if Angle had a legal script for the HGH, was / is his doctor even legit and the reason for Angle needing the drug legit ??

History has shown us that for the right amount of money, a doctor will write prescriptions for professional athletes, regardless of whether they needed the drugs or not. History has also shown us that these types of substances are readily available to wrestlers and other athletes illegally.

If the WWE truly cares about its superstars (which at first glance, it appears they do), should they make them use a company approved doctor so that this type of thing truly stops happening and the guys / gals only receive the medical attention they really need ??

Legally, I'm not sure if this could happen, but I feel if we truly want to clean up the sports world, this is the sure fire way to go.

Thoughts ??

 

[Nate DaMac]

Well first off, I agree with your stance on HGH and such. But to the point, do we know that the doctor who wrote the script wasn't approved by TNA? I really doubt it, but I haven't read otherwise in any of the reports. WWE has evaluations, remember how they found that heart problem with MVP? But I am of the belief that wrestlers are independently contracted, and thus should provide their own medical care. It's not as if they are underpaid laborers trying to get by day to day. Like me. Lol. I may sound like a dick, but I have trouble feeling petty for performers who make as much money as they do. TNA however, doesn't exactly hand out 6 figure contracts to everyone, so it would seem at least a little bit comforting for them to help out in a case like this. Still, we don't have any proof either way.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've always been of the opinion that it's not up to Vince McMahon, nor the ownder of any wrestling company for that matter, to police the personal lives, conduct and choices of wrestlers. However, that being said, it's very much the concern of such people when those choices and conduct leads to a negative effect on the company.

When it comes to steroids, they're not really considered to be as big of a deal as stuff like cocaine, heroin or pills because there's not a huge market for them nor do you have gangs from all walks of life across the world killing over them. That's one reason why so many regular people just look the other way.

Now, personally, if an athlete wants to take performance enhancing drugs, that's fine as long as he or she can do their job the way they're supposed to do. As long as it doesn't interfere with business, I'm perfectly fine with it as a fan. However, if I were a businessman that owned a wrestling company that made hundreds of millions of dollars a year, my opinion would change.

Regardless of my own personal feelings, steroids are an illegal substance and we've all seen the type of negative press the WWE received from the Benoit story. Hell, the United States government is still investigating any and all connection the WWE may have played in it, indirectly or not. The Benoit story and the whole thing with Balco, I think that's how it's spelled, just shows that a doctor writing out a script for the stuff doesn't necessarily mean jack shit. Money talks and bullshit walks. There are even doctors, some well reputed, that don't endorse the use of steroids in any situation, not even when it comes to physical therapy.

So, I guess my point is that personally, it doesn't bother me as long as they can handle their shit and not mess up anyone else in the process. But, I can most definitely see the other side of it as well. Few things in life are worth havin' the federal government have its nose stuck straight up your ass.