The vultures begin circling the wagons yet again.
The tragic news that wrestler Chris Benoit apparently killed his wife and kids is leading to a PR nightmare for the WWE, at least outside its circle. Once more, the holier-than-thou sportswriters who wouldn't give pro wrestling a passing interest unless something bad happens are breaking out their chastising pens.
Let me say this - I'm not totally naive and cold hearted to this tragedy. In the weeks since this happened, Raw and SmackDown have not been the must-see events that they were to me before. In fact, the WWE's first show after the deaths was in Dallas, and I didn't even bother checking for tickets - the first time in four years I purposely missed a show in my hometown.
Upon learning of Benoit's death, the WWE immediately canceled its June 25 show in Corpus Christi. Vince McMahon went into the empty arena to announce Benoit's death. It ruined the storyline they'd been running alleging McMahon's death, and I thought it was a classy move at the time that he put reality ahead of his fiction world. Others didn't think so. They immediately assaulted the WWE for running a three-hour tribute to a man who would later be claimed as a murderer. From what I've read, the authorities didn't call the deaths “murder-suicide” until the next day. Way to attack McMahon for not being clairvoyant.
Since then, the media has tried to dig up as much dirt as they can - especially after hearing '`roid rage may have played a part. Once again, they've tried to expose the wrestling world as nothing but steroid abusers.
When looking for someone to interview, many turned to Bret Hart - clearly figuring he'd give McMahon a verbal assault given their history. Hart has been more subdued and giving benefit of the doubt than they probably liked.
Dan Abrams has pushed the Benoit story on his weekday on MSNBC. But the worst may be ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd. He went so far to attack the WWE, but its fans as well, saying, “The only people who like wrestling are kids and adults who don't want to grow up.”
Well, Mr. Cowherd, those people would include several players in your beloved NFL, and another sports reporter named Bob Costas (he's appeared on WWE promos since his infamous McMahon interview).
People like Cowherd want you to be watching football, not wrestling. The sport where people actually are trying to hurt and destroy others is so much better?
They say the NFL doesn't have a steroid problem because they have testing. That didn't stop Shawne Merriman from using them. Shouldn't all these NFL lovers be asking, “If one of the best players in the game tried to cheat the system, who else is?”
And, oh yeah, how about 53 NFL players getting arrested in 2006, mostly involving assault, weapons possession and drug possession?
Does the Benoit tragedy mean pro wrestling has problems? Of course. But there are shady dealings in all pro and amateur sports, as well as in the worlds of movies, television, books, education and business. People who solely go after the evils in wrestling simply because they don't like it are acting like they claim its fans do - childish.
Call Vince McMahon what you want, but he's not stupid. After his steroid scandal in the 1990s, he let go of most of his super-sized wrestlers - and paid a price when they went to WCW. He's recently been taking advice from people in his organization who say that bigger is better. He may not be listening to them as much now.
I hope that Vince manages to clean up any problems in his organization. Others don't want that, because it provides them with fodder against him.
To those people I say this: Check the skeletons in your own closet before going after others.
