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WWE in spin mode over Benoit findings; paper reports family "incensed" at Jim Ross's attendance at Nancy and Daniel Benoit funeral

Posted: Jul 19th 2007 By: CMBurnham

World Wrestling Entertainment was in full spin control yesterday, doing its best to deflect any theories that 'roid rage might have contributed to the gruesome weekend rampage last month when, police say, WWE star Chris Benoit murdered his wife and 7-year-old son before hanging himself.

After Benoit's toxicology report was made public and revealed that the "Canadian Crippler" had high levels of testosterone in his body during the murder-suicide, the WWE issued a hasty, yet inaccurate, statement to downplay the results.

"WWE understands that the toxicology reports for Chris Benoit indicate that he tested positive for testosterone and negative for anabolic steroids," read a portion of yesterday's WWE statement.

Steroid expert Dr. Gary Wadler, a World Anti-Doping Agency member, was quick to blast the WWE for making "a contradiction in terms."

"An anabolic steroid is nothing more than a derivative of testosterone," Wadler told the News, adding that he did not lend much credence to the WWE's current drug-testing program--wrestlers with a 10:1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio are not flagged for positive tests--nor the portion of the statement that outlined how Benoit had tested negative for steroids as recently as this past April.

"We know nothing about the specifics of that test - we don't know the time, the (urine) specimen produced and whether or not it was unadulterated. We don't know if it was proof positive he wasn't using steroids, especially in this age when athletes are using patches, creams and other sophisticated performance-enhancing drugs.

"The WWE testing program - it doesn't even approximate what I call a meaningful testing program. Their whole protocol is all invested in one man (WWE founder Vince McMahon), bow to stern."

The testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio compares what is synthetic as opposed to endogenous, or testosterone produced naturally by the human body. An athlete with a 4:1 T/E ratio is considered to have tested positive for illegal amounts of testosterone according to WADA rules. Floyd Landis, the disgraced cyclist who may be stripped of his 2006 Tour De France title, had an 11:1 T/E ratio during his dramatic Stage 17 victory last summer, when he vaulted from 11th place to third and assured himself of victory.

The family of Nancy Benoit is infuriated with the WWE for allowing star announcer Jim Ross to attend the memorial service for Nancy and son Daniel in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday, according to a source. McMahon did not attend, but Ross did and was the only bold-faced name to stop and talk with reporters outside the Lady of Lourdes Church before the Catholic service. Ross made a point of quashing the steroid rumors.

"This is not a steroid issue. That horse needs to be put in the barn and unsaddled. This was a domestic issue. There's a lot of other criteria that has to be involved in it. I still can't believe it even happened. It's a domestic issue, but more than anything it's a tragedy. This is not a steroid issue. It's a mother and little boy, (they) are dead and that's the bottom line as far as I'm concerned," Ross said Saturday.

According to the source, Nancy's parents Maureen and Paul Toffoloni and Nancy's younger sister Sandra Toffoloni Sanchez did not consider Ross an invited guest, and were incensed that he made a colorful entrance, including his trademark black cowboy hat.

"They thought it was a media ploy by the WWE," the source told the News. "The way he stopped to talk with the media. He also sat in the back of the church and then was the first to leave after the service." Media members were not allowed into the service.

Despite the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's chief medical examiner Dr. Kris Sperry also downplaying the role steroids might have played in the tragedy, both Wadler and Dr. Todd Schlifstein, a sports medicine rehab physician and steroid expert at NYU Medical Center, said given Benoit's past steroid and drug abuse, it would be difficult to dismiss the 'roid rage angle so easily.

"When you have a stockpile of steroids and a doctor (Phil Astin) prescribing a 10-month supply every three weeks, obviously you're abusing steroids. And abusing steroids has been proven to be linked with aggressive behavior," said Schlifstein. "It's hard to label this as a one-drug problem. More likely, this is a multi-drug casualty. When someone does use high doses of steroids for a long period of time, it's very common for them to use other drugs as well, drugs like Xanax to help control the symptoms of steroid use, like aggression and anger."

The toxicology report said no traces of GHB--the infamous "date-rape" drug-- were found in Benoit, but GHB stays in urine less than 8 hours and in blood between 8 and 12 hours. Many labs are not properly set up to carry out GHB testing. The News has reported that Benoit abused GHB in the past.