Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released

[Nate 0]

if its revealed he has nothing in his system that really kills any sympathy people may have left for Benoit thinking he may not have been in his right mind at that time

[dubq 0]

if its revealed he has nothing in his system that really kills any sympathy people may have left for Benoit thinking he may not have been in his right mind at that time

 

Yes, because steroids (or other drugs) are the only thing that can make you go out of your mind...

[World's Worst Man 0]

It wasn't a case of him shooting up and losing his mind. He lost his mind because of prolonged abuse.

[Mecca 0]

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfu...ry.asp?ID=94982

 

The results of toxicology tests conducted on the body of former pro wrestler Chris Benoit will be revealed at a press conference Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said.

 

Toxicology tests have been conducted on Benoit's body to determine if steroids or other drugs were present. Blood-alcohol tests also were conducted on his body, and chemical tests were conducted on the bodies of the wife and son.

 

The results of the test will released by Dr. Kris Sperry, the state's chief medical examiner, said Bankhead.

 

i think alot of us will be holding our breaths tommorow along with WWE

 

Even if it comes back with nothing on it, the media has already chalked it up to steroids and will continue to say that with or without proof.

If you think that will actually happen then I want to punch you in the face.

 

They'll never let go of of the steroid thing.....you can think I'm wrong all you want. A good majority of the reporting so far has been wrong you really think they'd all of the sudden change?

[Nate 0]

if its revealed he has nothing in his system that really kills any sympathy people may have left for Benoit thinking he may not have been in his right mind at that time

 

Yes, because steroids (or other drugs) are the only thing that can make you go out of your mind...

 

i know, guess the more the think about it, its possible he may have been on something say too much anti depressants and it may have already went through his system by the time they did the blood work

[Bix 0]

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfu...ry.asp?ID=94982

 

The results of toxicology tests conducted on the body of former pro wrestler Chris Benoit will be revealed at a press conference Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said.

 

Toxicology tests have been conducted on Benoit's body to determine if steroids or other drugs were present. Blood-alcohol tests also were conducted on his body, and chemical tests were conducted on the bodies of the wife and son.

 

The results of the test will released by Dr. Kris Sperry, the state's chief medical examiner, said Bankhead.

 

i think alot of us will be holding our breaths tommorow along with WWE

 

Even if it comes back with nothing on it, the media has already chalked it up to steroids and will continue to say that with or without proof.

If you think that will actually happen then I want to punch you in the face.

 

They'll never let go of of the steroid thing.....you can think I'm wrong all you want. A good majority of the reporting so far has been wrong you really think they'd all of the sudden change?

Ok, what makes you think that there won't be traces of steroids in Benoit's body? The massive stockpile of steroids in his house? The fact that he was prescribed what would be a 10 month supply of steroids for a normal person every 3-4? His giant head? The fact that that he was far too muscled up for his size to be natural?

[Downhome 0]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/sports/o...amp;oref=slogin

 

Pro Wrestling’s Drug Testing Is Scrutinized After Murders

 

By RICHARD SANDOMIR

Published: July 17, 2007

 

By the time Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his son and hanged himself last month in their home, he had been tested for drugs four times as part of World Wrestling Entertainment’s “talent wellness” program.

 

Chris Benoit, tested negative for steroids in his last test before he murdered his wife and son.

 

His last urine test, administered on April 10 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., was negative for steroids and other drugs, but the W.W.E. would not disclose the results of the previous three tests.

 

After Benoit’s death, steroids were found by authorities in his home in Fayetteville, Ga., and court affidavits showed that his physician, Dr. Phil Astin, had prescribed Benoit a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids every three to four weeks from May 2006 to May 2007. Astin has since been indicted for improperly prescribing drugs to patients other than Benoit.

 

Whether Benoit’s final acts were related to steroids will not be known until the results of toxicology tests are announced, which is expected to happen today. But even as the W.W.E. trumpets its drug-testing plan as a credible deterrent to the abuse of banned drugs, questions persist about whether it is stringent enough to shield the organization from being hurt by the deaths of the Benoit family.

 

Some of those questions are emanating from the W.W.E.’s board of directors. One of the board members, Bob Bowman, is pushing the company to have an outside party re-examine the plan’s effectiveness.

 

“People feel something is amiss here — that’s within their right,” said Bowman, who is the chief executive of Major League Baseball Advanced Media. “Is it the right plan? Are no corners being cut? Is there no winking going on? Those questions need to be asked and re-asked.”

 

Bowman wondered if the thresholds for a positive steroid test should be lowered.

 

“Dr. Black says the thresholds are comparable to other leagues, but I don’t know if they are,” he said, referring to David Black, the president of Aegis Sciences, a laboratory in Nashville that runs the program. “I want to know if the program is appropriate to the issues that confront us now.”

 

The board is updated regularly about the drug program, and has in recent weeks discussed the Benoit case by telephone. David Kenin, a board member and executive vice president of the Hallmark Channel, said: “There’s never a sense that it is good enough. We’re always looking for improvements.”

 

The image of the W.W.E. is largely that of well-built, sometimes overly-muscled men of cartoonish and astonishing proportions, meeting in matches that serve as wildly popular soap operas starring human action figures.

 

Despite speculation that athletes whose physiques are so outside the norm of the American male must be chemically enhanced, the W.W.E. has grown into a $400-million, 52-a-week scripted, grappling circus, with Vince McMahon as its chairman. One of his television programs, USA’s “Raw” on Monday nights, is perennially one of cable’s top series, and another, “Friday Night Smackdown,” is the CW network’s biggest show. The ratings of both shows have been unaffected by the Benoit murders and suicide.

 

John Cena, the W.W.E. champion, said he was not surprised by what people think of him and other wrestlers.

 

“If you’re obese, large or small, it’s human nature to judge,” said Cena, who said that he had passed seven drug tests and that he would submit to 100 a year to prove that he was drug-free. “When the subject is muscularity, the topic of steroids is always going to be thought of.”

 

Steroid use has been a regular subject in professional wrestling. Stars of the past like Hulk Hogan and Big John Studd, who died of cancer at 46, have testified in court that they used steroids.

 

The muscular McMahon, who plays an outrageous version of himself on his programs, was acquitted in 1994 of charges that he conspired to distribute steroids.

 

In November 2005, Eddie Guerrero, then only 38 and one of the W.W.E.’s biggest stars, was found dead in a hotel room in Minneapolis after he failed to respond to a wake-up call before an event. An autopsy showed heart disease to which steroids and pain medication might have contributed.

 

Three months after Guerrero’s death, the W.W.E.’s drug plan went into effect, with random tests of the organization’s 180 athletes at least four times a year.

 

“The intention is not to punish, but to get them to engage in a different lifestyle,” Dr. Black said during one of two telephone interviews.

 

Unlike the drug programs in sports leagues, the W.W.E’s is also not intended to level the competitive advantages provided by steroids, human growth hormone or EPO.

 

“We’re not talking about fairness of competition testing, as in Olympic sports,” Dr. Black said, and added, “They’re not looking for performance-enhancement in their routines in the ring. They know what the routine is.”

 

Tests are conducted mainly before events and lack the surprise element of unannounced tests given out of competition, wherever the wrestlers might be. Gary Davis, a W.W.E. spokesman, said that some samples had been collected away from shows. Still, David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said, “You need to be able to test at any time,” because some banned drugs become undetectable days after being used.

 

The initial testing was, like Major League Baseball’s first tests, only to create a baseline to show how many wrestlers were abusing drugs, including steroids.

 

“We had a good number of positives,” said Dr. Black, who did not give the specific number of wrestlers who tested positive. “A fair number were sent warning letters. The drugs included steroids and a fair number of others.”

 

Subsequently, Dr. Black said, the testing has yielded eight positives for steroids, including “several” wrestlers who tested positive a second time.

 

He did not name them.

 

A first positive test leads to a 30-day suspension and a second positive leads to a 60-day suspension. A third positive yields a termination.

 

So far, no wrestler has tested positive a third time, Dr. Black said.

 

One element of the W.W.E.’s drug plan allows a wrestler who has damaged his endocrine system by abusing steroids to receive a therapeutic exemption to use steroids for testosterone-replacement therapy.

 

“They’ve damaged their ability to make testosterone, so we have to allow the therapy,” Dr. Black said. “It’s common medical practice. We’re dealing with a population of individuals who have harmed their endocrine systems. Is the point of the program to punish them or deny them a livelihood?”

 

Several wrestlers currently have such exemptions, he said.

 

It is within Dr. Black’s discretion to allow testosterone therapy. The system differs from that of the many sports federations that have adopted the WADA code, which requires athletes to present their case for a banned drug to a medical board that will rule on its use. An exemption to use steroids, Howman said, “would be very rare for us.”

 

Dr. Gary Wadler, an expert on performance-enhancing drugs and a WADA consultant, said, “A therapeutic-use exemption is something you ask for before the fact, not after the fact.” To him, the W.W.E. is saying, “His testosterone is low because he took stanozolol, so let him take stanozolol.”

 

Wadler and Howman said the W.W.E.’s threshold for steroid testing should be tightened. The policy says that if a wrestler’s testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio is between 4 to 1 and 10 to 1, follow-up testing is required. W.A.D.A. declares a positive test when the ratio is 4 to 1.

 

The W.W.E. policy says anything beyond 10 to 1 is conclusively positive. “You need a greater degree of specificity to hold someone accountable,” Wadler said.

 

Black said anyone testing over 4 to 1 in the W.W.E. either has more than the average amount of testosterone naturally or has a replacement-therapy prescription, which Black is aware of.

 

“There is no loophole or get-out-of-jail card,” he said.

[dubq 0]

if its revealed he has nothing in his system that really kills any sympathy people may have left for Benoit thinking he may not have been in his right mind at that time

 

Yes, because steroids (or other drugs) are the only thing that can make you go out of your mind...

 

i know, guess the more the think about it, its possible he may have been on something say too much anti depressants and it may have already went through his system by the time they did the blood work

 

I'm also saying that even though he MAY have been on something, it's pretty fucking obvious that dude was fucked in the head regardless of substances to do what he did during the time period in which it happened.

[justcoz 0]

I think Benoit did it to save pro wrestling from the Who Blew Up Mr. McMahon storyline. He knew he was the God of the smarks and he sacrificed himself and his family to kill a low point in creative - not unlike Jesus dying for our sins and a suicide bomber dying for Allah. He shot up some roids, walked around like Frankenstein for about fifteen minutes and then went on his rage of terror.

 

He was also upset that Meltzer had been giving him *** ratings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for making light of a terrible situation but I've been in serious mode for the past three weeks or however long it's been. I needed a break and so many ridiculous theories have been made - is the above anymore ridiculous? Who knows what the fuck the guy was thinking. We will never know and I still can't watch wrestling the same way.

 

 

[Enigma 0]

I'd say this is an issue of Benoit gradually losing his mind because of all his friends dying coupled with the idea of losing his marriage and his child. Mike Awesome and Crash Holly committed suicide over issues like this.

 

My guess is Nancy made a crass remark about leaving Chris and taking Daniel with her. That's when I think all this senselessness started.

 

I couldn't give a rat's ass about steroids. Steroids don't make you murder your family and then commit suicide. The only thing I'm interested in with these toxicology reports is the presence of anti-depressants in his system. They found Zoloft in Brynn Hartman's system when she shot up Phil Hartman and then herself.

 

If no anti-depressants are found, than this is 100% nothing but issue of a man gradually losing his mind over an 18 month span, refusing to seek and accept help for it, and it culminated in three dead bodies.

[Boxer 0]

Here's something I'm wondering. If the wellness policy WASN'T in place when this happened, would WWE be absolutely crucified by the media?

 

I mean, this could be so much worse if the plan wasn't in place.

 

Question 2, if Eddie never died, would this plan be in place? Was there ever a plan being developed way before Eddie died? Or was this plan simply something that came out of the Eddie death?

[justcoz 0]

Here's something I'm wondering. If the wellness policy WASN'T in place when this happened, would WWE be absolutely crucified by the media?

 

I mean, this could be so much worse if the plan wasn't in place.

 

Question 2, if Eddie never died, would this plan be in place? Was there ever a plan being developed way before Eddie died? Or was this plan simply something that came out of the Eddie death?

 

Initially I get the feeling that the media was surprised that WWE did in fact test their talent. I really doubt there would be any testing had Eddie not died. They did it to be proactive for media scrutiny in light of one of their top talents dying at 38 but the media didn't care until a wife and seven year old died with the wrestler. Then they realized that a lot of wrestlers have died and here we are.

 

[Jingus 0]

A first positive test leads to a 30-day suspension and a second positive leads to a 60-day suspension. A third positive yields a termination.

 

So far, no wrestler has tested positive a third time, Dr. Black said.

 

So, what exactly were Test and Joey Mercury fired for, again?

[lomasmoney 0]

What if Benoit comes back with nothing in his system....What if he was just a guy who was straight up mentally fucked up. There are plently of normal people who just have mental issues and fucking go off. Hell, I couldn't control my anxiety and panic attacks growing up until my family realized that I was born 3+ months early and was just a tad different than everyone else. Who is to say that Chris Benoit just had some hereditary or genetic malfunction that he just couldn't control one day , would that be that far fetched?

[Jingus 0]

Or like Chris Rock said: "What ever happened to crazy?"

[Vern Gagne 0]

What if Benoit comes back with nothing in his system....What if he was just a guy who was straight up mentally fucked up. There are plently of normal people who just have mental issues and fucking go off. Hell, I couldn't control my anxiety and panic attacks growing up until my family realized that I was born 3+ months early and was just a tad different than everyone else. Who is to say that Chris Benoit just had some hereditary or genetic malfunction that he just couldn't control one day , would that be that far fetched?

 

 

Well, I think Benoit had something in his system but that wasn't why he did what he did.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I think Benoit did it to save pro wrestling from the Who Blew Up Mr. McMahon storyline. He knew he was the God of the smarks and he sacrificed himself and his family to kill a low point in creative - not unlike Jesus dying for our sins and a suicide bomber dying for Allah.

 

[Bix 0]

I'd say this is an issue of Benoit gradually losing his mind because of all his friends dying coupled with the idea of losing his marriage and his child. Mike Awesome and Crash Holly committed suicide over issues like this.

 

My guess is Nancy made a crass remark about leaving Chris and taking Daniel with her. That's when I think all this senselessness started.

 

I couldn't give a rat's ass about steroids. Steroids don't make you murder your family and then commit suicide. The only thing I'm interested in with these toxicology reports is the presence of anti-depressants in his system. They found Zoloft in Brynn Hartman's system when she shot up Phil Hartman and then herself.

 

If no anti-depressants are found, than this is 100% nothing but issue of a man gradually losing his mind over an 18 month span, refusing to seek and accept help for it, and it culminated in three dead bodies.

For the trillionth time, steroids can cause depression and hallucinations. Combine that with the other drugs, head injuries, and the fact that Chris Benoit had it in him to kill people, and you get what happened.

 

[Bix 0]

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/h...t.asp?aID=20183

 

7/16/2007 11:52:00 PM

 

Benoit toxicology reports to be released tomorrow

 

by Dave Meltzer

 

[email protected]

 

The toxicology report on Chris Benoit will be released at a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead.

 

The report will determine if steroids and other chemicals, including alcohol were found in Benoit's body. The results of tests of Nancy and Daniel Benoit will also be released.

 

It should be noted that in toxicology testing, for testosterone cypionate, the drug Dr. Phil Astin had prescribed for Benoit, to show up, a shot would likely have had to have been taken after the Friday morning before his death.

 

While the report will create the so-called "final answer," for the media and general public, it really won't prove anything one way or the other. If Benoit had taken a shot in his last days, it doesn't prove steroids caused the murders. If he showed no steroids in his system, it doesn't mean he wasn't on steroids at the time (which also wouldn't mean for certain one way or another what level of factor, if any, they were in the murders).

I take it this means that a tox screen on a dead person works MUCH differently from a urine test on a living person.

[JimmyHendricks 0]

I think the WWE's reaction to this will be interesting. If no steroids are found in his system (fat chance), look for a big "press release" on the frontpage of WWE.com about how right they were about it being a deliberate act, with another picture of a scowling Benoit. If they DO find steroids, expect the big story to remain Cena/Lashley for this Sunday, as all hell will be set to break loose.

 

The media will continue to press/blame steroids no matter what the outcome is. Expect the first reporter question to the pathologist to be if he thinks steroids are to blame. It doesn't matter if Benoit was roided up beyond comprehension or if he had the equivilant of half a pill in him-the media will take that and run with it. Mero will come back with 145 dead wrestler names on a piece of paper. Nancy Grace will interview somebody new each night this week (I'm betting on Disco Inferno, DDP and Kimberly (taking time to mention their Yoga book), and Glacier). It will be 3 times as worse as it has been.

 

Even if no steroids are found in his system, they'll still blame them. They'll have some forensic "expert" on to talk about how the steroids could have escaped his system in the 24 hours after he hung himself. Debra will be back to say that Austin once beat her in a roid rage for 8 days straight after taking one steroid pill, blah blah blah. They were blaming steroids immediately after all this happened. On that Monday night, FOX News' front page had a photo of Benoit, a message announcing the bodies had been found, and a link that just said "Steroids?" right under it. They have an agenda, and they aren't going to abandon it in light of actual medical fact. That would be good reporting!

 

The whole Wikipedia deal was a perfect example of dumbass media coverage. It was obvious to anyone with a brain that it was some idiot trying to be funny, but they totally ran with it, trying to turn it into something bigger. That and Nancy Grace saying Benoit was depressed about being demoted to RAW. Ugh.

 

Get ready. Here we go. Well, in 3 hours, get ready.

[Perfection 0]

There is just way too much emphasis here on steroids and not other things like pain pills, anti depressants or whatever else. Its absolutely absurd the way the media has portrayed steroids as being worse than crack or acid. More than likely benoit had some sort of cocktail of pain pills, nerve pills, etc and combine that with an already unstable personality resulting from some unforeseen psychological issues or even brain damage from all the hits to the head, and you have a rather unstable individual.

[milliondollarchamp 0]

Did the WWE use Nancy and Daniels funeral as a way to sign talent like they did at Eddies Funeral

[Perfection 0]

You know Benoit could have saved us all a lot of speculation if he had just left a damn note.

[dubq 0]

Did the WWE use Nancy and Daniels funeral as a way to sign talent like they did at Eddies Funeral

 

Who was that?

[Bix 0]

A giant problem with the media coverage (especially on cable news channels) is the use of the term ROID RAGE because it's a buzzword, long after anyone with any knowledge of the subject said it could not have been ROID RAGE even though steroids certainly could have assisted in the deterioration of Benoit's mental state.

 

As Meltzer noted, no testosterone cypionate (the steroid Astin prescribed him) present in the type testing they do in the toxicology screening doesn't really mean anything, though if that is the case, WWE will run with it as proof that their policy didn't fail. Hell, if he had started to come off them, the withdrawal could have made things much worse.

 

The fact is, Benoit had it in him to kill his wife and son before taking his own life, steroids, other drugs, head injuries, etc. just worked together to flip the switch.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Did the WWE use Nancy and Daniels funeral as a way to sign talent like they did at Eddies Funeral

 

Who was that?

John Laurinaitis was openly recruiting wrestlers at Eddie's funeral.

[Bix 0]

Did the WWE use Nancy and Daniels funeral as a way to sign talent like they did at Eddies Funeral

 

Who was that?

John Laurinaitis was openly recruiting wrestlers at Eddie's funeral.

Details? I don't remember this one at all.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Did the WWE use Nancy and Daniels funeral as a way to sign talent like they did at Eddies Funeral

 

Who was that?

John Laurinaitis was openly recruiting wrestlers at Eddie's funeral.

Details? I don't remember this one at all.

I remember he spoke to either Charlie Haas or Jackie Gayda about coming back; one of them mentioned it in an interview a few months after the event.

[Downhome 0]

Maybe they talked to Marc Mero, trying to sign him to a contract so they can shut him up.

[JimmyHendricks 0]

It's about to start. FOX News has a "expert" with a foreign accent who says it's "obviously a textbook case" of steroids. What a shock.