So all the heads of the major sports leagues met with congress the other day to talk about steroids. The only one who was invited that didn't show up? Vince McMahon. He cited his lawyer's unavailability due to working a high-profile case (it's true- "US vs. Dr. Cyril Wecht"- he of Unsolved Mysteries fame).
However, Rep. Bobby Rush (one of the main guys who wanted to investigate pro wrestling after the Benoit incident) opined that Vince "flipped his finger" at congress by not showing up. This is a statement Rush made:
“Steroid abuse in pro wrestling is probably worse than in any professional sport or amateur sport. And while I recognize that professional wrestling is not actually “a sport,” it certainly requires a great deal of athletic talent. It is immensely popular with young people, including children, and many of the high-profile athletes and entertainers have fatally abused steroids and other drugs.
“The number of deaths in the professional wrestling ranks is startling to say the least. And the tragedy of Chris Benoit (name mispronounced) has been well documented. I want to insure Mr. McMahon that this committee—his subcommittee—fully intends to deal with the illegal steroid abuse in professional wrestling. And we hope he will be part of the solution and not part of the problem. We intend to see procede deliberatively on this particular matter. We have options and Mr. McMahon should and must be willing to cooperate with the undertakings of this subcommittee and we expect no less.”
And according to Jason Powell of prowrestling.net, the committee has recently asked two former WWE wrestlers, Chris Masters and Bobby Lashley, about the WWE's drug testing policy. They even asked whether it's true that WWE mocked his muscle-loss on TV.
Just when it seemed things were dying down vis a vi wrestling and congress, it looks like they're starting to heat up again. Based on WWE's press release, it seems Vince had a valid excuse for not appearing.
Excellent. The world needs another media-whoring politician. We'd be lost without them.
Leaving aside the relative merits of Vince and the Wellness Policy (which I trust have been covered previously on these boards), this unequivocable tool has basically publicly denigrated a guy for employing his legal right to counsel. Way to go.
They really should have better things to do than this sort of macho posturing crud. Things like aiding Sen Specter in his noble crusade to find out if the Patriots made any good videos over the last few years (I jest JayJay, I jest!).
While I don't for a moment dispute that the Congressman is posturing and that the committee should have made more of an effort to get McMahon there, I also think it's more than a little disingenuous to say that VKM was simply employing his right to counsel. It's not as though WWE only has one lawyer working for them.
Originally posted by Peter The HegemonWhile I don't for a moment dispute that the Congressman is posturing and that the committee should have made more of an effort to get McMahon there, I also think it's more than a little disingenuous to say that VKM was simply employing his right to counsel. It's not as though WWE only has one lawyer working for them.
A) If I was testifying in front of Congress, I probably would not want to settle for bringing my second-best lawyer. B) They told Congress a month in advance that McDevitt's schedule didn't work for the day selected.
I find the most erotic part of the woman is the boobies.