Ken Kennedy on the Benoit media coverage

[still71]

[QUOTE]Please GOD, I'm just BEGGING for someone who has actually wrestled in a WWE ring in the past decade besides Jericho, Bret Hart, John Cena, and Ted Dibiase to come forward on one of these shows and tell the world what's really going on. For these goofs, like Lanny Poffo? Ultimate Warrior? and Marc Mero???!! to repeatedly act as "experts" and "wrestler advocates" on the current situation is like having a frustrated ex-jock who rode the pine bench throughout his high school sports career give advice to Brett Favre on how to improve his game! It's ridiculous, insane, and it really makes me sick that these so called reporters like Bill O'Reilly, Nancy Grace, and Geraldo Rivera, call upon these silly bastards who are bitter and frustrated that their careers have ended to represent the WWE which of course makes all of us look like a bunch of babbling idiots who are all addicted to steroids, drugs, alcohol, etc. THINGS ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THEY WERE FIVE OR TEN OR TWENTY YEARS AGO! Most of the "expert", frustrated ex-wrestlers that they've had on the show came from an era where everyone wrestled every day and then went out and partied like rock stars until dawn, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, smoking cigarettes and marijuana, snorting cocaine, taking fistfuls of pills, and injecting massive amounts of steroids. They would take pills to go to sleep, snort coke or take speed to get up and do this day after day after day! This would not be even remotely tolerated in today's environment. We have a strict drug policy in place. The WWE's wellness program was designed and instituted by the same doctor who implemented the NFL and the NBA's substance abuse programs. Contrary to what somebody recently said on one of these "tabloid" shows the WWE's allowed levels are exactly the same as the NFL. (Someone, I can't recall exactly who said it, said that the WWE allowed a 10:1 Testosterone to Epitestosterone level, which is false. We have a 4:1 level exactly like the NFL and the NBA.) In fact, I knew of someone who took an over the counter supplement from GNC which he didn't know was on the banned list, which caused him to have an elevated testosterone level. This individual was suspended and fined because of it. We can't even take Ephedrine which is another legal supplement that can be bought at any gas station in the country. Since I've been with the company, I've seen the few people that did have problems with drugs either sent to rehab to try and help them overcome their addictions, (sent to one of the top rehab facilities in the country and paid for in full by the WWE) or be fired for repeat offenses. Look at the list of wrestlers who have prematurely passed away over the years, and most of them made the decision to live their lives this way. That's right, I said "made the decision" because we have this cool thing in the United States of America called "freedom of choice". I have the choice to quit my job if I don't like it, or if I feel that I'm on the road too much. I have the right to choose whether or not I want to break the law and use drugs. I have the right to choose between eating healthy food and exercising regularly and eating fast-food three times a day, not going to the gym, and becoming obese like a good majority of the citizens in this country. When will individuals be held accountable for their own actions? Will it ever happen, or will we always try and point the finger at someone else? Unfortunately as much as I respect the man, Superstar Billy Graham is ultimately responsible for the health problems he suffers from right now because of the choices he made in his career. I find it both sad and humorous that the man who many say is largely responsible for starting the whole "steroid craze" in pro-wrestling is now pointing the finger at the industry rather than blaming himself. I, like everyone else in the company, have the luxury of being able to go home almost every week, play with my dog, hang out with my girlfriend, sleep in my own bed, and eat good home cooked food. This wasn't the case with these frustrated ex-wrestlers who are trying to grasp on to FIVE more minutes of fame and recognition. I hear some of these guys talking about how the WWE doesn't have any type of benefits. I heard Johnny Grunge's widow on Nancy Grace saying that wrestling leaves you with nothing, and that two weeks after her husband was released from WCW that they lost their cars and their home. It apparently wasn't obvious to Nancy Grace, who is reportedly an extremely intelligent person, that they were obviously living outside of their means, and they weren't doing something that my parents taught me to do when I was a little kid……SAVE MONEY. This job pays well, but I know that it won't last forever. It's the same problem with pro athletes and actors in Hollywood who spend, spend, spend, like the money grows on trees and like it's always going to be there, and then falls flat on their faces when their careers are suddenly cut short. Who's fault? The team? The studio in Hollywood? I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who don't save money and spend everything that they earn so they can impress everyone around them with all the NEAT THINGS that they own. As far as the having no health insurance thing goes, I've been seriously injured twice since I've been in the WWE. Every red cent has been paid for in full by the company, which is the case for any employee who is injured during a work or work-related event. Yes, I have my own supplemental insurance which is a bit expensive, but if WWE paid for it, I'm sure that, just like every other company in the country that offers health insurance to their employees, I would just be paid less, so it's a wash! In the end, we are all responsible for our own actions. Saying that Vince McMahon is responsible for the deaths of the Benoit's is like saying that you and I are responsible for the deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and her son. The millions of people who tuned in every week to be entertained by "how funny" she was when she was all PILLED up and DRUNK, suddenly became the same people who acted SHOCKED and APALLED when she died of a drug overdose. Somebody, PLEASE, stop the insanity!!!! KK [/QUOTE] Awesome.

[flamebrain]

I tried to read it aloud but all I could hear was the sound of a large nail being hit squarely on the head.

[wooodaddy]

preach it brother!!!

[PeterHilton]

He's right in saying that most of the guys the media are talking to are totally useless as information sources..anmd that things are very different now. But he's wrong if he honestly thinks there isn't a drug/steroid problem in wrestling still. It's not like the people who are dying are all old-timey wrestlers. I understand 'freedom of choice' but the industry is a contributing factor and odds are Kennedy will be having to make a similar post after another wrestling-related death in the near future.

[AfRoMaN36]

[QUOTE=PeterHilton;259178] But he's wrong if he honestly thinks there isn't a drug/steroid problem in wrestling still. [/quote] He wasnt talking about the industry.... just the WWE. And we can talk all we want about how ineffective it is, they guy is living it so he knows more than any net guy can dream of knowing. Freedom of choice is 100% right. If wrestling promotes this kind of behavior, why isnt Kennedy doing it? Because he chooses not to. And kudos to Kennedy. (Even though all I heard in my head while reading this is him yealling) I seriously hope someone other than the Ultamite Warrior steps forward and speaks the truth.

[mjdgoldeneye]

Cool! :cool: I agree!

[still71]

Bischoff chimes in: [QUOTE]Get The Hook! For the first time in my 20 years in this business, I am embarrassed. Not because of the horrific act of an obviously troubled individual, who until a few weeks ago was a respected part of the sports-entertainment business. I don’t believe that the Benoit tragedy is representative of the business, or more importantly the people who are a part of it. Chris Benoit had psychological problems. The root cause of those problems will debated for months to come. As well they should be. By experts. Not by the parade of clowns who are fighting for their last 60 seconds of fame on cable news programs that are clearly sensationalizing and exploiting this situation for one reason and one reason only: ratings. If there was any doubt about that, one need only look back at the list of idiots that have covered this story. Nancy Grace…give me a break. Or how about Bill O’ Reilly? “Hard Hitting Interview”? Since when is a half decade old out of context interview newsworthy? Can anyone seriously argue that news networks are not exploiting and spinning the sad death of a wife, son, and father for one reason and one reason only? But I’m not embarrassed by the obvious ethical/professional lapse of the cable news industry. I’ve never been in that business. Besides, we see it all the time. The most embarrassing thing for me over the past ten days has been watching the likes of Debra Marshall-Williams-McMicheals-Whoeversheisgoingtotaketothecleanersnext, Marc Mero, Lanny Poffo, et all fighting like a bunch of addicts at a crack festival, trying to become the spokesperson for an industry in which they have been irrelevant for years. If it were not for the painful circumstances surrounding this issue, these three would have a regular gig on Saturday Night Live. Hopefully accurate information will come out soon that will allow for a meaningful discourse surrounding this issue. In the meantime, somebody get the hook and get these clowns off the stage[/QUOTE]

[AfRoMaN36]

And he has a point aswell...

[Nevermore]

Man, from a professional standpoint, I was always thought Bischoff was a dick (what with ECW loyalties 'n' all) but, whenever I hear anything shoot from him, I gain a lot of respect. The man talks sense. Quote The Raven Nevermore

[Capelli King]

Now that was one really cool speach. Respect to Ken

[GDE71]

There are still too many holes in WWE's "wellness" program. If you have a "legal" prescription, you pass. That's a joke, when you have doctors like the one Benoit had. You honestly don't even need to do more than LOOK at people and you see who is on the juice. Bitch tits are an easy tell. Someone packing on tons of muscle fast is an easy tell. Too much juice flowing in the WWE for their testing to be doing what it SHOULD be doing. Their program however, is doing exactly what they want it to do, and that is LOOK like they are doing something.

[D. Boons Ghost]

Bischoff is embarrassed by the media, is he? What about the nut job that caused this ruckus? Oh... it's Benoit. No need to feel embarrassed towards the idiot that brought about this media firestorm of the week in the first place. But Lanny Poffo? Hah! What a jerk. Were this about O.J. Simpson, you don't think there would be 50 former pro footballers giving their insights? Oh, wait... Bullocks. All Kennedy and Bischoff are doing is circling the wagons. After all, do any of us think a WWE employee would honestly come out and question the validity of this half-assed Wellness Policy? Or even admit that there is something wrong with this unregulated industry? Turning this negative attention towards the media is nothing but a spin. The same damn spin that the media is doing by going the steroids route. And both sides continue to ignore/cover up the overall problem.

[still71]

the real problem is self responsibility. People don't want to take resposibility for their own actions, plain and simple. Kennedy made a great point about Billy Graham. If anyone should keep his damn mouth shut it should be him who started the whole roid craze! And now he wants to blame the industry, when it's he (self admittedly - he brags about it) who started the damn craze as a shortcut to fame! If you can't handle to physical, mental, and emotional strain it is to be a pro wrestler, or are willing to take shortcuts (steroids) in the process, then don't be a whining bitch when the consequences come later. Vince McMahon didn't hold a gun to anyone's head and force them into pro wrestling. The whole thing reminds me of a pathetic anti-smoking ad that used to run here in California where actresses pretending to be bar waitresses did monolagues asking people to please not smoke because it is killing them. Uhhh hellooooo biatches, if you don't like the hazards that come with being a waitress in a bar serving liquid poison to people in mass quantities, THEN DON'T DO IT! Nobody is forcing you to work in a bar! Same thing goes for wrestling - if you don't want to live the life of a modern "Carney", don't want to run the risk of dying young, then don't be a wrestler. The hilarious part is the lifestyle of a pro-wrestler is far healthier than it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 years ago... hell you go back far enough and youd've possibly had the occupational hazard of wrestling a live BEAR in the ring! Has beens, and never had beens like Lanny Poffo, Steve Blackman, The Warrior, Debra Mcwhatevertheslutsnameisnow, etc., just need to shut the hell up and quit trying to make a fast buck because they were stupid and never saved their money for the future in the first place, just like KK said. I wasn't that big of a Kennedy fan before, but his rant gained him some respect in my eyes. As well as the intelligent showings on shows by Jericho, Bret Hart, Cena, Debiase have. They have been good counter points to the pathetic dinosaurs paraded around the media of late...

[AfRoMaN36]

[QUOTE=GDE71;259361] If you have a "legal" prescription, you pass. That's a joke, when you have doctors like the one Benoit had.[/QUOTE] Thats just an extreme exception. I've yet in my life to meet a doctor that incompetent. A legal prescription would mean a cortisone cream or someting of the sort. Things that are supposed to go into horses are never prescribed by respectful doctors and are illegal for the WWE. [QUOTE=D. Boon's Ghost;259370]Bischoff is embarrassed by the media, is he? What about the nut job that caused this ruckus? Oh... it's Benoit. No need to feel embarrassed towards the idiot that brought about this media firestorm of the week in the first place. But Lanny Poffo? Hah! What a jerk. Were this about O.J. Simpson, you don't think there would be 50 former pro footballers giving their insights? Oh, wait...[/quote] Why would Kennedy go on record and take heat from the FRIENDS Benoit had backstage by bashing him. I'm sure he places some blame on Benoit. Everybody does. But he was one phycologically challenged individual and it had NOTHING TO DO WITH STEROIDS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ROID RAGE DOESNT LAST A WEEKEND!!! ...I'm sorry, but this really IS media thing... They are clearly trying to spin it that way. [quote]Bullocks. All Kennedy and Bischoff are doing is circling the wagons. After all, do any of us think a WWE employee would honestly come out and question the validity of this half-assed Wellness Policy? Or even admit that there is something wrong with this unregulated industry?[/quote] Do you work for the WWE? Because I dont, but I also cannot tell Ken Kennedy that the system he works under is half assed. I think he knows a little more than any of us do. A normal defense would be.... "Well restlin advertisess steroides" Then lets paint the NBA, NFL and MLB with that very same brush. Same grueling scheudal. Same people thinking that roids might help them in some capacity. Either way all of those organizations indluding the WWE are trying to stop it. [Quote] Turning this negative attention towards the media is nothing but a spin. The same damn spin that the media is doing by going the steroids route. And both sides continue to ignore/cover up the overall problem.[/QUOTE] I... (Commits Suicide)

[PeterHilton]

[QUOTE=AfRoMaN36;259391]Thats just an extreme exception. I've yet in my life to meet a doctor that incompetent. A legal prescription would mean a cortisone cream or someting of the sort. Things that are supposed to go into horses are never prescribed by respectful doctors and are illegal for the WWE.[/quote] REALLY? So because you've never met a doctor who would write a dirty prescription, there are obviously none out there?? Have you all conveniently forgotten the story in March about the well known doctors in Florida, Arizone, and Alabama who were being investigated for writing illegal prescriptions? Not only were a couple of baseball players on their list of "patienst" but also guys like Orton, Rey, Edge and Eddie? [url]http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2964998[/url] Considering what we know about athletes in other sports, its naive and a little asinine to think that this doctor is some rare exception. [QUOTE]Why would Kennedy go on record and take heat from the FRIENDS Benoit had backstage by bashing him. I'm sure he places some blame on Benoit. Everybody does. But he was one phycologically challenged individual and it had NOTHING TO DO WITH STEROIDS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ROID RAGE DOESNT LAST A WEEKEND!!![/QUOTE] I don't think anyone really believes Benoit's actions had anything to do with steroids. But he's a company employee...what else [I]would [/I]he say? Fact is....in the same way that a bitter has-been is a poor sunject to speak to in a situation like these, so is someone who is working for the company in question. Because, even if he knew something was wrong or flawed, there's just no way in hell he'd actually say anything. [QUOTE]Do you work for the WWE? Because I dont, but I also cannot tell Ken Kennedy that the system he works under is half assed. I think he knows a little more than any of us do. [/QUOTE] Lame cop out. There are people who have written about and covered wrestling and other sports for years. Just because you aren't in the WWE, doesn't mean you don't have an undertanding of what goes on. Nobody knows what they test for. Nobody knows their suspension policy. And again..what else would you expect him to say? Ideally, they would interview someone who recently worked for the company who's made enough money and has no desire to ever wrestle again so they don't care if they burn their bridges. But honslty...listening to Kenedy or Bischoff for that matter is basically like reading a corporate press release.

[AfRoMaN36]

[QUOTE=PeterHilton;259399]REALLY? So because you've never met a doctor who would write a dirty prescription, there are obviously none out there??[/quote] I have heard of them. But every single doctor I've met personally (which I meant)are good. The worst is the one I have now... and the worst he's done is write me a note telling my baseball coach I was cleared to play after breaking my nose when it was clear that it was still broken. [quote]Fact is....in the same way that a bitter has-been is a poor sunject to speak to in a situation like these, so is someone who is working for the company in question. Because, even if he knew something was wrong or flawed, there's just no way in hell he'd actually say anything.[/quote] True. But in the context he was using it, he was saying that their is no need to put blame on steroids for the Benoit case. And he is right. He then goes on to list the new reports errors of the wellness program which lord knows they have a tendency to "forget" [quote]Lame cop out. There are people who have written about and covered wrestling and other sports for years. Just because you aren't in the WWE, doesn't mean you don't have an undertanding of what goes on. Nobody knows what they test for. Nobody knows their suspension policy. [/QUOTE] While this is true again. It still hold ground that a wrestler inside the actual industry would know loads more than Dave Sherer, who makes everyday in the WWE seem like a rainy day and makes it seem to some wrestler that they are miserable in a certain place and then their autobiographies come out and they actually negate people like him personally. To say it has its flaws is an opinion. But to see guys like Test being pushed to the moon one day then sitting on the unemployment like weeks later shows me it isnt as flawed as one might think.

[GDE71]

There are plenty of lazy-assed doctors who will write a scrip for anyone. The reason is it keeps the patients coming back and they get a kickback from the pharmacy the patient is told to go to, to fill the scrip. Use your eyes. You don't need a test to see who is juicing. However, if you are going to test, make it a REAL test.

[djthefunkchris]

Those sights' never EVER give the WWE any kind of support whatsoever.... They are 100% against the WWE, and it's sometimes so obvious it's not funny. And alot of people here are "Brainwashed" to think like them. The thing is there is no "wellness" program on any of the other promotions they "Do" like, and yet they never talk about that.. They just want to make sure that YOU the reader believe's that the WWE's policy is a farce. I have read nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to proove that they are a farce, and like Afroman's example of Test... If anything, what I see kind of makes me believe there is more to it then that. Sure, these other's would love the WWE to place a program that just "fires" anyone for a mistake... It could possibly mean the release of future TNA stars, huh? It's so obvious when reading it, I can't believe how many people back it, and especially people I feel are pretty intelligent with just about everything else.

[AfRoMaN36]

[QUOTE=djthefunkchris;259407] Sure, these other's would love the WWE to place a program that just "fires" anyone for a mistake... It could possibly mean the release of future TNA stars, huh? It's so obvious when reading it, I can't believe how many people back it, and especially people I feel are pretty intelligent with just about everything else.[/QUOTE] I ALWAYS hear after WWE releases a worker without ever saying why (Code name for Wellness violation) "I wonder if TNA will pick him up... he is teh c0ol." Those are the same people who call the Wellness policy crap.

[Irish Wolf]

Sounds just like Matt's blog on his myspace page which he posted after being given the go ahead by WWE to say what he wanted.

[djthefunkchris]

[QUOTE=GDE71;259406]There are plenty of lazy-assed doctors who will write a scrip for anyone. The reason is it keeps the patients coming back and they get a kickback from the pharmacy the patient is told to go to, to fill the scrip. Use your eyes. You don't need a test to see who is juicing. However, if you are going to test, make it a REAL test.[/QUOTE] Give one shred of proof that it's not Real, and is different then what Kennedy described... bassically being that it's set up the same way as the NFL's is. And to note... A program is not a police unit, they cannot, nor could they legally, go after doctor's making "false" or "bad" prescriptions... All they can do is turn it in, and I wouldn't be surprised that Benoit's doctor wasn't turned in, in the first place, but the policy that the WWE use's (it's contracted). I know plenty of people around me that can get great prescriptions from doctor's, and there are tons of people addicted to pain pills and the like all around the world. My point is... No matter how effective a policy is... They cannot just second guess doctor's all the time, it would be non productive. And a policy is NOT responsiple for doctor's writing bogus prescriptions.

[AfRoMaN36]

They also cant look at a guys muscles or if his doctor is a quack and then say he is doped up. Legally, they cant.

[PeterHilton]

[QUOTE=AfRoMaN36;259404]I have heard of them. But every single doctor I've met personally (which I meant)are good. The worst is the one I have now... and the worst he's done is write me a note telling my baseball coach I was cleared to play after breaking my nose when it was clear that it was still broken.[/quote] Point is...your personal experience has nothing AT ALL to with this news story. The one thing that the steroid/HGH investigation in pro baseball has proved is that there are literally hundreds of private practitioners out there willing to write a prescription for anything as long as the price is right. Every person involved in the steroids allegations have somehow been tied to to some doctor or private clinic who provided them with a prescription. Why would wrestlers be the same I'm actually sure the Kennedy is right in tha tthings are much better now then they were 10 years ago or so. But the damage done even ten years ago is probably still going to affect someone else's health. And the fact that a prescritpion negates any positive results is a GAPING loophole. [quote]To say it has its flaws is an opinion. But to see guys like Test being pushed to the moon one day then sitting on the unemployment like weeks later shows me it isnt as flawed as one might think.[/QUOTE] But pet projects like Masters get pushed to the moon, deflate like a balloon when the policy is announced, and then a few months later when the Eddie story dies down quickly puts on mass again. There are obviously still kinks to the system. I don't disagree that personal responsibility is a big part of it, and things are probably much better now (especially since WWE essentially runs the wrestling world in the US), but to dismiss the problem entirely is just stupid. And it is also EXACTLY the same thing wrestling's proponents have been saying for years..every time a famous wretler dies...."things are cleaner now, its not that big of an issue"...and yet somehow wrestlers keep dying of the same things. If pro wrestling can go ONE year without someone's heart exploding or some 40 year old dropping dead of kidney failure, THEN I'll believe that things are fixed.

[PeterHilton]

[QUOTE=djthefunkchris;259412]Give one shred of proof that it's not Real, and is different then what Kennedy described... bassically being that it's set up the same way as the NFL's is. And to note... A program is not a police unit, they cannot, nor could they legally, go after doctor's making "false" or "bad" prescriptions... All they can do is turn it in, and I wouldn't be surprised that Benoit's doctor wasn't turned in, in the first place, but the policy that the WWE use's (it's contracted). I know plenty of people around me that can get great prescriptions from doctor's, and there are tons of people addicted to pain pills and the like all around the world. My point is... No matter how effective a policy is... They cannot just second guess doctor's all the time, it would be non productive. And a policy is NOT responsiple for doctor's writing bogus prescriptions.[/QUOTE] Actually, yes you can. The NFL has league or team doctors who police that. And, even with a prescription, if you pop positive you are suspended. HUGE difference. Bang the WWE drum all you want...the fact that a presciption gives you a free pass on drug tests is a loophole that can obviously be exploited. The only way the WWE would avoid that is by having an actual medical deparmtent for the company..but that would probably mean paying worker's medical expenses, and that ain't happening.

[Moe Hunter]

Lance Storm has gone on record as having read the complete Wellness Policy and he thinks it's practically a joke. Besides that, all the smart marky writers really are full of crap. Oh so and so is in the doghouse for such and such because he hasn't been winning as much lately. Matt Hardy refusing to take a chokeslam. CM Punk making out with Maria too much. Mercury physically assaulting Stephanie McMahon. It's all hyped up melodramatic bull****. And yes, where is their concern for TNA or ROH stars who might be eventually dead from Roids? Where are the stores from "Inside Informants" from other companies about the inner workings of future happenings? The whole thing is a waste of space.