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  NoDQ.com > Columns > Corner to Corner: When Good News Goes Bad
Posted by Stan Grubb on 10/27/2009 at 07:03 PM

This is my debut column here on NoDQ.com! Contact me with feedback by clicking on my name above! I hope you enjoy...

Rewind all the way back to 1990. The Gulf War. The world sat in awe of the might of the media. We all watched together it seems. We watched what they put on our screens. We read what they put in quotation marks. We pushed them to the top of an industry that they may have deserved. At the time, they were the only game in town.

Corner to Corner: When good news goes bad

Welcome back to a new issue of Corner to Corner. Today we talk about injustice. Today we talk about irresponsible people. Today, CNN get's theirs. As I begin my latest issue, I have one question for all of you.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOOD NEWS GOES BAD?

The WWE Steroid controversy in 1991 is remembered by most any devoted, longtime, wrestling fan. It was all over the news. It was a sad day when Hulk Hogan stood amongst his peers and testified against his former employer, Vince McMahon. He admitted to using steroids. He admitted to being guilty alongside Vince of abusing illegal substances to enhance his body. He even described times where Vince ORDERED the steroids for him. And in the end... Vince was acquitted. Why? Proof. There were some that stated that even though they could show Vince in fact encouraged the bigger bodies, that they could not officially substantiate any claims with physical evidence. So, while many mainstream media moguls went about their business and claimed WWF superstars were still steroid users, there was never a proven court decision that Vince FORCED or REQUIRED his people to use/abuse the performance enhancing drugs. What does this mean? Simply stated- There is no concrete proof that VINCE MCMAHON forced his wrestlers to abuse steroids.

I know, I know... You're scratching your head and saying, "Is Stan serious? IS HE DEFENDING VINCE?" Yeah, I am. I think it's obvious that some superstars abuse steroids. I think it's very possible that wrestlers focus on getting themselves as huge as possible in order to work for the WWE. I would even venture a guess that in the past Vince McMahon had indeed turned a blind eye to the abuse as his ratings climbed and his checking account grew. Still, in all of that, I don't think Vince encourages them to use an illegal substance to get big. I don't think it is a fair statement to put out there that he set up a testing plan that would for sure fail. Does Vince McMahon encourage steroids and other illegal drugs? Is he truly the monster that the media wants you to think he is? Are you kidding? The man owns a multimillion dollar company. He is responsible for the everyday operation of a company that was built by his father. Would he truly be so indescribably stupid as to simply pimp his people out so they could do his bidding? C'mon folks! Wake up and join the land of the living. Join us in a world where logic still matters. I know... I know... CNN says this. CNN says that.

The system as it is today doesn't want you to think Vince is innocent. The media is describing Vince McMahon as a greedy ringmaster with his innocent puppets doing his dirty deeds. CNN has aired a piece on the 'DEATH GRIP' that steroids has on professional wrestling. They creatively editted an interview with John Cena to FIT their unnecessary attack on the WWE. I'd like you to go to WWE.com for a minute. Go there and type Cena and CNN in the serch section. Follow the links to the uncut interview and listen to it in it's entirety. Now, if you're anything like me and chances are by reading this you probably are, you can see where it sounds like John spent a lot of time describing how there is no correct answer anymore to 'Do you use or have you ever used steroids?' right? CNN aired this program on the death of Chris Benoit. They made it a point to attack not just Vince, not just Chris, not just John Cena, but also us. They attacked the everyday wrestling fan. Once again, a media outlet has attempted to insult our intelligence. I suppose that is the in thing to do nowadays.

To me, the special on CNN was a direct statement by CNN of "Oh they like wrestling, they must be stupid!" Ignorant people run ignorant news programs. CNN, once a major player in the news industry, has now become yet another pathetic tabloid. It's bad enough Fox News, MSNBC, and the rest of the cable news channels have chosen political parties to support, now the last bastion of news has reverted to typical dirty tricks to get their ratings. Is this really how we should spend our time? Watching CNN run roughshod over logic and intelligence is not my idea of an educated decision.

Wrestling is not alone in the spotlight for use of performance enhancing drugs. Hell, in the past three years how many sports stars can you recall that tested positive for HGH, steroids, or even marijuana? Is it so blown out of proportion now that Vince McMahon has to be used as the example? Target Barry Bonds! Target Ricky Williams! Hell, go after the guy who supplied the New England Patriots with the idea that spying was good! I think it is a really bad idea to assume that Vince is the evil puppeteer of all that is wrong with sports. Is he truly the worst? What about the people in Major League Baseball who allowed Bonds to continue to play when they KNEW he was on illegal substances? What about the guys in the NFL who allowed a guy like Michael Vick to put dogs in a caged environment and let them kill each other? Is it really the best thing to concentrate on when people who play for the Cinncinati Bengals are arrested all summer long?

The truth of the matter is that we do not live in a perfect world. Commisioner Goodell has been doing all he can to correct the things left for him to fix by the others who ignored and/or allowed the problems in the NFL to grow. Major League Baseball has finally started to realize that they need to do more to keep HGH away from their sport. They have a lot of work to do, but they're starting to finally see it for what it is. And to think that it's so easy to fix is truly ignorant. Vince McMahon and his company have at least TRIED to enlist the help of outside organizations to get the wellness policy some much needed credibility. It's time to really take this issue seriously. I absolutely see this, but it's also time to leave Vince alone. Why is he the only one singled out by CNN? I didn't see them jump Goodell in the NFL or the boys in MLB for allowing so many drug using freaks to run crazy. No, they chose the one guy they thought was an easy target. Vince McMahon.

For the record, I hope the WWE sues the pants off CNN. I hope they take them and run them into the ground. Tabloids belong in one place. The garbage. There is no place in journalism for falsely accusing people of abusing drugs, running companies that have identified and attacked the issue of steroids and drugs into the ground, and singling out one man who has not been convicted in a court of law of anything that would give them reason to do so. Sure, Vince has done a lot of things that were wrong. We can all see that. None of us are so blind that we think Chris Benoit didn't get encouraged for his chiselled look, newfound aggression, or daredevil technique. None of us think are so unintelligent to think that the wellness policy in the WWE is perfect. Neither is the NFL's or MLB's or even the NBA's. It's a shame to see that CNN has become what it used to pride itself as never being as low as. A Tabloid.

Who knows, maybe this time next year TMZ will become the top news broadcast? Well, let's not go too far. I mean, we're not that far gone are we??

--Stan Grubb--

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