http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/62628/The-MeeThinks-Friday-FreeThinks-11.02.07.htm
Major Change to WWE Wellness Initiative
Starting Nov. 1, All Infractions Will Be Made Public
This is a pretty significant update to WWE's controversial Wellness Initiative, which has long been shrouded in secrecy and has most recently drawn heavy criticism in light of the Benoit family tragedy earlier this summer and the slew of wrestler suspensions that followed. In short, the new policy change states that from here on out -- if a performer gets busted for doping, fans and critics alike will be the first to know, as the performer's name (and cause for disciplinary action) will be published front and center on the WWE (corporate) web page.
Kinda' like Hester Prynne for the 21st century.
Obviously this is a HUGE deal for wrestling fans and haters alike, as it helps to remove one of the most "secretive" and oft-criticized elements of WWE's existing Wellness policy. If what the 'E is saying is true, then from here on out there should be little question or doubt as to exactly *which* performers are violating the company's drug policy, and exactly *what* supplements they're using to do so. This works on three key levels at once:
1) It removes an extra level of suspicion. Since WWE is a publically held company, it can only benefit their best interests to make shareholders feel that they aren't being mislead or deceived. Steroids and drugs are a hot-button issue these days -- so it's much better to say "yeah, there are problems... and HERE's what and WHO they are" rather than to just blindly keep denying that a problem exists in the first place.
2) It acts as a deterrent. These days, it's only the IWC know-it-alls who keep taps on who's doping, on what, and when -- and we pretty much have to rely on the "dirt sheets" and insider rumor mills in order to obtain this information (which is still pretty much suspect, at best). But once this info is made public? Branding Wellness violators with a "scarlet letter" makes it all the more damaging for a performer to get caught breaking the rules. Think parents will be so eager to buy their kids Jeff Hardy gear if they find out he's a repeat drug offender? Think again.
3) It sets a precedent. Though anybody can tell you that what a coach/team/employer says *behind closed doors* and what they go on record as saying *in public* could easily be two very different things (example -- professional modeling industries and college wrestling coaches continue to swear up and down that their people aren't forced to starve themselves to cut weight)... it makes a very clear public statement that, as a company, WWE is more willing to call performers out for breaking the rules (and, in turn, more willing to suffer the public embarrassment and/or monetary loss associated with this revelation) than they are to help foster these problems behind closed doors.
Now sure...
Many folks will argue that this latest revision to the Wellness Initiative is really little more than a classic case of "closing the barn doors after the horses have already been let out" (after all, just about 75% of WWE's active performers have already been nailed for drug violations BEFORE the Nov. 1 "public reveal" deadline) -- but this policy could most definitely help to prevent against similar abuses and infractions on down the line.
I mean, just think about it for a second here --
If a dozen more performers all get nailed at once for breaking the drug policy (as was the case with the Signature Pharmacy scandal of some two months ago), and if WWE is forced to reveal the names of each of these performers in a clear-and-easy-to-read press release on the company website, you can BET that major media outlets will be more than happy to pounce on the news and use it for additional fuel to their ongoing "drugs and wrestling" fire. WWE, in turn, looks like the good guy (well, the "less bad" guy, at least) -- since they're more than willing to reveal who all is breaking the rules... and performers themselves have all the more reason to stay off the 'gas for fear of finding themselves at the center of a media (and Congressional) firestorm.
The message is clear:
WWE doesnt' condone drug use, and it will be MORE than happy to throw performers under the bus of public opinion and ridicule and hang folks out to dry if they're unable to stay clean, safe, and sober. The company offers regular drug and cardiovascular testing, and has gone on record with a public offer to pay for rehab services for ANY performers (past or present) who might need help kicking the habit.
Short of offering an organized system of health care or the opportunity for a worker's union (both of which are, without question, similarly noble pursuits for another day), that's where WWE's responsibility *ends* and each individual performer's personal responsibility *begins*.