Struggling with extremes: Steroids, traumatic brain injuries, and Chris Benoit

James L. Carney

Since professional wrestling first gained prominence in the 1950s,

their competitors have played the roles of heroes and villains for their fans. The trajectories of
some wrestling characters have included a journey from 'had the time' to redemption and
worship. Other stories have told the tale of an apparently 'good person' who, to
sometimes inexplicably, it becomes 'bad' and hurts those who were once there
on his side. The true story of the rise and fall of wrestler Chris Benoit plays out as
a more horrifying, and certainly sadder, version of the latter. In June 2007, Benoit
he killed his wife and his young son and then hanged himself. In an attempt to explain this
inexplicable tragedy, the authorities and journalists attributed Benoit's fall to various
causes, among them, steroid abuse, a rocky marriage and concussions
what he suffered while fighting. There were no steroids in Benoit's body at the time of his
222222death, and the authorities finally expressed doubt about their prolonged use of
steroids and their subsequent testosterone replacement therapy - a common treatment
for the deficiencies caused by the use of steroids - were factors that contributed to the
murder-suicide. In contrast, doctors discovered that the multiple concussions
The cerebral injuries that Benoit suffered during his resettlement career caused him damage.
cerebral and early-onset dementia, similar to that found in players of
professional footballers ('The Brain of Benoit', 2007). In summary, the same skills of
the wrestling that made Benoit one of the most respected professional wrestlers
contributed to his brutal disappearance.

Certainly, brain injury among professional athletes is not uncommon...

The early deaths of many players portrayed in the National Football League speak of the
neurological damage that professional sports can cause is not benign. In 2011
Dave Duerson donated his brain to Boston University for better study of the
effects of professional football on the body and then committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest
(Schwarz, 2011). But Benoit's story deviates from the traditional narrative of many
sports heroes. While those stories generally involve drugs, gambling or
bribes as the downfall of the hero, the story of Benoit, like that of a growing number
of professional athletes, involves something more complex. In this chapter, we trace the rise
of Chris Benoit and his fall ex'entua1. We examine the media representations of his
masculinity in wrestling, the controversy surrounding the media coverage of his death and
the one of his wife and son, and the rhythmic forms in which the media continue to value him for his
success in wrestling while building multiples against stories about their death.

Myth, Ritual and Hypermasculinity in the rise of Chris Benoit

The myth of Benoit was surely based on his pedigree as a professional wrestler. Benoit
he showed interest in professional wrestling when he was a teenager in Canada, idolizing
established wrestlers like Bret 'The Hitman' Hart and half of the famous tape team
The British Bulldogs, Tom Billington, who was known as 'The Dynamite Kid'. He was an apprentice.
Hart trained in his own facilities with his father, Stu, who was a wrestler.
professional and promoter. Sri Hart trained his sons, Bret and Owen, the British Bulldogs, and a
countless other wrestlers. In fact, the Hart family has a rich history in wrestling.
professional. The father and two of his sons are inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame
World, and two of his daughters married professional wrestlers. His youngest daughter, Diana,
he also had an important role in the ring; he participated in several storylines invoking his
husband, Davey Boy Smith (the other half of the British Bulldogs trained by Stu). Upon entering
In this franchise of stories, Benoit made sure that his rise to fame had a
powerful trampoline.

Although his pedigree was forged early through his relationship with the Harts, the learning of one
Even a more famous and successful professional wrestler was common. Nowadays, videos of
Internet of the fight in the back duck have bep-iin to chanp-e how and how early one
rises to fame. But in the 1980s, Benoit had to pay his debts as
any other professional wrestler. On his journey to prove that he was worthy of a
international stage, found its early success in the Canadian Wrestling League
Stampede with a trip to Japan for training, and finally competed for New Japan Pro.
Wrestling. In Japan, he wore a mask with the nickname Pegasus Kid, and soon began to
win partdos. While Benoit initially resisted the notion of wearing a mask,
Finally, he got used to her, illustrating the power of character ritual he realized that
the role of the masked villain was well established in professional wrestling, which captured
the public's attention, even as someone against whom to take root (Ball, 1990). Among the
tours in Japan, worked for several wrestling promotion companies in the United States
United, among them Extreme World Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling. Then, in
In 2000, Benoit entered Vince McMahon Jr.'s wrestling empire, the World Federation.
of Lucha Libre (V/WF). Although Benoit had earned the respect of his wrestling peers
for his athleticism and friendliness, he was on the international stage of the V/WF - later called
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and its affiliated events (Smackdown!, Raw,
WrestleMania and SummerSlam, where Benoit finally reached the top of wrestling.
professional.

By soaking literally and figuratively in the legacies of fighters like the Harts and Davey Boy
Smith, Benoit made sure that his entry into the world of wrestling was inserted
perfectly in the plot of a mythical tale. Describe the struggle in such terms, as by
example, a Greek tragedy, is not something inaccurate. Like in the theater, professional wrestling
place on a stage separate from everyday life, in this case what is commonly called
the square circle, or a ring. Despite its links to Greco-Roman wrestling,
traditionally established in a real circle, professional wrestling takes place in a
elevated platform in a rectangular shape, that evokes a "home" corner for each fighter and
highlights the drama of the competition, as well as amplifying the falls and jumps of the fighters
(Ball, 1990). The comparison with theater highlights the symbolism and attention to the plot and the
conflict in professional wrestling stories. McMahon and WWF E were masters in the
creation of drama esthetic, often involving celebrities and personalities of the
television. These promotional links were both scenified (like when Mr. T
he presented Saturday Night Live before the first WrestleMania) as unscripted (like
when Hulk Hogan put the majority of Richard Belzer's talk show in a warehouse to
sleep and then dropped it to the ground, opening his head) (Ellison, 2008). Although
he probably knew at that moment (Karp, 2008), Benoit was entering an arena
in which entertainment was the ultimate goal, to be achieved at all costs. wrestling
professional, with its stories, archetypal heroes and villains, and portrayals of conflict and
redemption has several similarities that are more than fleeting with theater. And certain stories...
they lend themselves to public visibility and to certain fighters reaching a level of celebrity not
possessed by others. When McMahon bought the World Wrestling Federation from his father
and began to book smaller tours and regional promoters, consolidating the crowd
of fighters and combining those numbers with television syndication agreements
(Oppliger, 2004), these stories have become a global phenomenon. This scenario
international made many fighters famous tliroiip-h stars of the extravagances
like WrestleMania. In this first pay-per-view event, wrestlers and future stars
from television and film like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper
appeared alongside stars like Cyndi Lauper, Mr. WrestleMania has continued attracting
to millions of viewers, ensuring some fighters media
unthinkable. This is the world Chris Benoit entered when he became a member
from Vince McMahon's 'stable' of wrestlers. With his athletic ability and physique very
musculoso, no es sorprendente que Benoit se convirtera en uno de los luchadores
most recognized and respected professionals in the world.

Like Benoit, fighters who became famous had to possess certain

attraction rituals. The roles that a male wrestler can take on usually fall into a
continuation of 'flat stereotypes' that allow the audience to read their own in those roles
hopes, fears, and desires (Ball, 1990). The characters that one often encounters in the
survey battles encompass compositions of stereotypes and archetypes that
they are found throughout both modern and ancient myths, including threats
foreigners, heroes, masked villains, and nature boys (Ball, 1990). It is common,
as in the case of the public figure Benoit, where a struggle transforms from hero to
villain (commonly referred to as 'heel') and vice versa. But as we will explore later,
Benoit's personal life currently reflects the tragedies that commonly unfold.
on the theatrical stage. The beginning of Benoit's tragedy seems to start with the rules not
established writings in the era of McMahon's professional wrestling.

To escape the regulations associated with organized sports events and leagues, in
In 1989, McMahon made the seemingly counterintuitive argument that wrestling
the professional was not "real" (Beekman, 2006). While it may seem that the appeal of wrestling
The freedom lies in the fact that the audience believes that the fight is real (Ball, 1990), the promoters
they argued before several state boards that professional wrestling was something fixed (Oppliger,
2004; Karp, 2008). McMahon argued that the fights "did not represent competitions
"legitimate athletes because their winners were predetermined," than professional wrestling
professional "could not be considered a sport" and instead should be described as
sports entertainment (Beekman, 2006, p. 131). As entertainment, professional wrestling
would not be regulated by state regulatory boards, avoiding licensing rights and
other forms of government supervision. It is important to note that it freed the promoters
so that they would implicitly or explicitly encourage their fighters to 'get up' for any
necessary means (Karp, 2008). Like his idol, Davey Boy Smith, and others, these 'means'
for Benoit included both steroids and other pharmaceutical products to pierce the
pain from injuries sustained in the ring (Karp, 2008). In fact, excessively
muscular of many male wrestlers was, in the era of McMahon's professional wrestling,
terrible for the use of steroids and other growth hormones (Oppliger, 2004; Karp,
The transition from wrestling as a sport to entertainment directed attention to how the
man the bodies of the fighters made in the way they looked. In this culture,
part of the reason why Benoit became the heavyweight world champion in
2004 was his will to play this game.

Stories of the Fall

Around 4 PM on Monday, June 25, 2007, the deputies discovered the
bodies of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their son Daniel in their home in Fayetteville, near
Atlanta, Georgia. As the details became public, the tragedy turned
clearly in a murder-suicide. Nancy and Daniel had been asphyxiated, apparently
murdered, and Chris was found hanging from a wire on a weight machine. The feet and
Nancy's dolls were tied up and had bruises on their backs that suggested that Chris
he had tied a rope around her neck and had strangled her. Daniel was
found in his own bed; his internal wounds in the neck without visible bruises led
to the authorities to speculate that the victim had been killed by a strangler (Duffy
Ahmed, 2007). Experience suggests that the sequence of events has encompassed the end of
the previous week. Reports revealed that Nancy had been murdered at some point
on Friday; Daniel died either on Saturday night or early Sunday morning,
and Chris committed suicide hours later (Bluestein, 2007a; Duty & Jefcoats, 2007)

WWE officials had urged authorities to investigate after Chris

The scheduled matches for the weekend will not take place. That Saturday, June 23,
Benoit had missed a live wrestling event held in Beaumont, Texas.
Jefcoats, 2007). The following night, Sunday, Benoit was scheduled to fight and
defeat CM Punk for the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Championship at 'Vengeance'
"WWE: Night of Champions" of WWE (Boyd, 2007; Duffy & Jefcoats, 2007; "Wrestler Benoit",
2007). Held in Houston, Texas, this event had a national audience. To explain the
Benoit's absence from the fans, WWE announced that he had a "family emergency" and contacted
in private with the police to check how Chris was (Duffy Jefcoats, 2007).

Shortly after the bodies were discovered, several different explanations for the
events emerged in the media coverage. The three most prominent theories identify the
root cause as social, emotional or physiological. The social narrative framed the murder.
suicide as the culmination of a long history of marital abuse, theorizing that Chris
he had tormented his wife for years and could have exploded in violence when she
she threatened to leave him. This explanation arose from the revelations that, in May 2003,
Nancy Benoit had filed for divorce and requested a restraining order against Chris;
the petition was dismissed when the couple reconciled three months later (Duffy v. Jefcoats,
In this story, the social institution of professional upbringing encouraged behavior
Chris, and his violent hypermasculinity reinforced - even legitimized - a system of aggression.
dominant males. Similar stories, reported by the media and by
the people involved have framed the marital abuse of other fighters throughout
the years (Karp, 2008). Of the different narratives that recount the tragedy, this one seems
being the most professional: the activity presents itself as a misogynistic excess, and the fighters
they appear as 'bullies' and 'murderers' instead of heroes and athletes (Seeliger, 2007).

The WWE officials also promoted a story that emphasized the

marital conflicts, but his account placed the burden on the emotional tensions
particulars of Chris and Nancy's life. At the center of this explanation were the reports
that her son, Daniel, had a rare physical and mental disability known as 'Fragile X Syndrome.'
drome
McDevit, a WWE lawyer, the Benoits had argued that they were taking care of their son.
just days before the tragedy, and "it became quite obvious from several different sources" that
Fancy and Chris fought over the issue. McDevit said that Nancy didn't want Chris to leave.
the fight, but she did want him to stay at home more often to be with Daniel
Ahmed, 2007). The evidence supporting this explanation was somewhat confusing. The Prosecutor of
District, ScotBallard, described the boy as 'very small, even shrunk' and said
that "the old needle marks on his arms" supported the theory that his parents had
he was consecrated and they had given him growth horns (Duffy & Jefcoats, 2007). But if Daniel
he effectively had the disease, the Benoît had kept it a secret; the parents of
Nancy -Patl and Maureen Toffoloni- informed through their lawyer that they had no idea of
that her grandson had the disorder and had always seemed like 'a normal, healthy, and happy child, without
"signs of illness" (Mosconi & Nichols, 2007). In this explanation, the fact of hiding the
Daniel's condition appeared as evidence that his disability was a source of
tremendous stress in the marriage.

The narratives that identify the emotional causes of murder-suicide won

credibility from a recent tragedy in Chris's life. Benoit's father, Michael,
he stated that Chris had been struggling emotionally since the premature death of his
friend and comrade in struggle, Eddie Guerrero in 2005 (Karp, 2008). The link of the
events with emotional issues did not answer the questions about the reasons
about Chris's problems or the extent to which Chris had stitching problems, but at
the difference of the abusive spouse theory focused on a personal psychological break in
place of a systemic defect that permeated upbringing.
The explanation that appeared most widely in the coverage referred to a medical or physiological caton:
the steroids. This framed the tragedy as a case of 'Steroid Rage', a frenzy
induced by drugs associated with steroid abuse. Stories of behavior
the hyper-aggressive behavior of the fighters outside the ring had been connected for a long time
time with the use of steroids. Davey Boy Smith repeatedly hit his wife, the daughter of
Stu Hart, Diana, and at one point he put a shotgun to his head. Although his story
it has been discussed by many within the Hart family (Assael, 2002), she attributed the event to
their use of steroids (Karp, 2008). Steroids had been implicated in the deaths of
several professional wrestlers, including Benoit's friend, Guerrero (who died in 2005),
Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig (who died in 2003) and Davey Boy Smith (who died in 2002)
(Bluestein, 2007b).

On Tuesday, the theory of steroid-induced rage became the most popular explanation, and
it quickly generated controversy. It is revealing that the story initially arose due to the lack
tests on its accuracy, when the press reported on Tuesday afternoon that the
Authorities refused to say whether drugs or steroids had been found inside the house.
from the Benoit (Newby, 2007). Later that day, Thomas Pope from the Sheriff's Department of
Fayette County revealed that both prescription medications were discovered in the house.
with a prescription like steroids, and the afternoon television news reported quickly
of this new fact. CBS News broadcast the status of Pope and followed it with the assertion of
that WWE had 'instituted a new and supposedly tougher drug policy just the
last year after the death of another wrestler was linked to the use of
"steroids" ("Pro Wrestler", 2007). The report stated that "there have already been scandals
related to steroids in wrestling" and the wrestler Billy Graham was cited,
admitting that he had used steroids for 'almost 25 years' (although he denied having
Have you ever experienced rage from steroids?). He concluded: "The authorities will publish
a final toxicological report within a few weeks, but once again there are new
questions in the mainstream of the United States about sports, steroids
and stardom" ("Pro Wrestler," 2007).
In a matter of hours, a press release from WWE drew even more attention to the
possible connection to steroids by vehemently denouncing the very suggestion as
sensationalist reporting and speculation
They declared that several points were contrary to the explanation of rage from steroids: they
I believed that the drugs found were prescriptions for 1e-al; the steroids did not cause
directly the death of Chris (asphyxia by hanging); the toxicology reports are still not
they had been completed; Chris had passed his last drug test administered by the
WWE in April, the manner of the deaths and the timing between them indicated deliberation instead
out of anger, and the police had admitted that they had no direct evidence proving that Chris
he had been taking steroids ("World Wrestling Entertainment", 2007). These protests,
quite weak, they did not stop being debated: about the hypothesis of rabies from steroids, but
they established quite well that the BE feared the implications that the case would have for the struggle
professionally if rage due to steroids was blamed for the tragedy. While the narration
the abuse may have represented wrestling under the most antisocial light
The explanation of steroid rage probably had the greatest ramifications.
legal issues for the organization. Despite WWE's efforts, during the following
Weeks later, the narrative of rage on steroids became the center of the conversation.
public about the murder-suicide.

On July 17, 200?, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation released the toxin from two newspapers.
from New Brunswick, Canada, reported virtually the same information, but the stories
they suggested opposing interpretations. The article by Daft Ghaner, titled 'Benoit's Body'
"Contained Combination of Drugs" (2007) tended to downplay the link with the
steroids, while the article by Tehgro9â-Joorndl titled 'Benoit's Dead Body Loaded
with Drugs" (2007) directed attention to the possible function that those might have had
substances. Both articles of the logical report compiled on the three family members.
Daniel's blood contained Alprazolam (Xanax), an anti-anxiety drug that is generally not
it was reported the presence of testosterone in Benoit's body along with the
declaration of S that there was 'clothing to show that steroids played a role. The
Dr. Kris Sperry's results revealed that the level found was high even for an adult.
and concluded that the dose would "definitely sedate him" and make him unconscious or just
marginally aware of the events at the moment of their death (Bonnell, 2007). The
Nancy's results revealed the drug hydrocodone (commonly known as Lortab or
Vicodin), hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and alprazolam. A urine test of Benoit revealed
that the steroid testosterone was at a level of 207 micrograms per liter, about ten times
the normal levels. This amount of testosterone in the urine showed that Chris had been
"using" testosterone "within a reasonably short period of time" before his
death. Sperry stated that this amount "could be an indicator that it was being
"treated for testicular insufficiency." No other steroid or artificial substance was found.
similar to the steroids in Chris's urine. Sperry concluded that 'not
we found no evidence of any other anabolic steroid or any other type of drug that
could be injected for bodybuilding purposes or things like that" (Van Susteren)
Wheatley, 2007).

The news reports framed the results in radically different ways.

fueling opposing interpretations of the toxicological report. An article from the National Post of
Canada had the headline 'Benoit's death does not shed light on steroid use'
(Spector, 2007), while a report from the Fox News Network had the headline 'The
"Toxicology reports shed new light on the murder and suicide of Chris Benoit" (Van
Wheatley, 2007). Similarly, some articles linked the presence of
drugs with crimes - "Chris Benoit had steroids, other drugs in his system in the
moment of the murder-suicide" (Montgomery, 2007), and "Investigators find
steroids in the body of the fighter who killed his wife and son before hanging himself
(Bluestein, 2007b) - while others indicated that the report did not answer questions
important nor explained the tragedy - "The toxicological report does not solve anything in the case of
"Chris Benoit" (Mann, 2007). In summary, the press coverage of the results
presented contradictory opinions on whether the drtg and/or steroids contributed to the
Chris's actions and to what extent they did.

Despite the repeated guarantees from medical experts that it was not a case of
rage from steroids -and the experts' doubts about the real existence of that condition-
Various news kept the narration of steroid rage alive. For example, the
"Articles on the death of fantasy and Daniel Benoit", this last report seems to encourage the reader.
to question this.

Dart Garner included Sperry's statement that "there are contradictory scientific data about
whether testosterone creates mental disorders or leads to outbursts of rage," but the
The Tehgrnpâ-Journal did not cite this statement. Similarly, the Telegram mentioned the
information that 'anabolic steroids were found in the house' in the first half of
his report, but the Gorier waited for the article to be finished in two thirds before
It was discovered that 'fresh anabolic steroids' (emphasis added) were found in the house.
Glenner's article focused on the ambiguity of current studies that
they examine a link between steroids and violence, reporting that 'Dr. Kris Sperry said
that there is no consensus that the use of testosterone can contribute to paranoia, the
depression and the violent outbursts known as 'steroid rage' (emphasis added).
Using almost identical words, and technically expressing the same fact, the TelegrnQh-
The journal wrote that 'Some experts believe that steroids can cause paranoia,
depression and violent outbursts known as 'roid rage' (emphasis added). Finally, the
Telegra9â-Journal published the negative results of Benoit's blood alcohol tests.
in a more prominent position than those of Doty Gunner, including that information in the
third sentence and immediately afterwards informing of their elevated levels of testosterone.
The priority implied the importance of this finding and the context suggested a power.
explanatory: since alcohol did not play a role, it is more likely that another did.
thing. None of these details deviated from the facts as they have been reported elsewhere
places, Unit his presentation in the history of T "hgoph-Jo" rnol subtly maintained the
explanation of rage due to steroids despite the contrary eviction of the report
toxicology. Chris's father, Michael Benoit, had expressed for a long time his
confusion about the murder-suicide, and I was hoping that the toxicology reports
they will provide some answers and a conclusion (Mosconi Nichols, 2007). The doctors
associated with the Sports Legacy Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to
to study the damage caused by repeated concussions in athletes, they suggested
An alternative reason for Benoit's erratic and destructive behavior.
NOWinski, himself a professional wrestler and co-founder of the Institute, requested permission to
Michael to examine his son's brain. The results seemed definitive. Dr. Bennet
Omalu did the work and concluded that the brain of Benoit, 40 years old, was
it resembled that of "an 85-year-old man in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease"
(March 2007). Despite this evidence - and the negative conclusions of the report
toxicological on steroid abuse at the time of the exam-, the explanation of
murder-suicide with traumatic brain injury (TBI) did not capture public interest as did
I had told the story of the rage from steroids.

Conclusion

As of July 2011, the Wikipedia article on testosterone ('Testosterone', n.d.)

he only named two people in his section on "Athletic Use" of anabolic steroids.
despite the fact that several high-profile cases have received extensive attention (for example,
Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, and Andy Pettitte, none of these
Athletes were mentioned in the article. The first athlete named was the Canadian sprinter.
Ben Johnson. Johnson was stripped of his consecutive medals and records.
world championships of 100 meters flat, which he had obtained at the World Championships of
Athletics in 1987 in Rome and at the Summer Olympics in 1988 in Seoul. The second
The athlete that Wikipedia named was Chris Benoit. The article stated that his case had
once again brought the use of steroids into focus in 2007, but attributed this effect to the
"media frenzy" surrounding the murder-suicide and pointed out that there was "no
test that will indicate the use of steroids as a contributing factor." In other words, to
despite the medical evidence against considering Benoit's tragedy as a case of
rage on steroids, her name has become synonymous with steroid abuse. But
why?

Our analysis suggests that explaining Benoit's catastrophic acts as rage for
steroids attract those who would distance murder and suicide from wrestling and the
sports, because the root of their actions can be considered a form of deception. In the
On the surface, at least, sports do not require the use of steroids, no matter how much the practice is.
in professional wrestling (Randazzo, 2008). In the tale of rage over steroids, the tragedy
Benoit becomes his responsibility: his own choice to use dangerous drugs
It means that he himself caused this disaster. Wrestling may not be innocent and that
their current practices deserve to be criticized, but in this explanation, the sport does not have
no inherent responsibility for their crimes. Furthermore, it emphasizes the narrative of the
steroids in the arc of the 'dirty athlete'.

On the contrary, the explanation of the LCT tends to involve the struggle as responsible.
substantial of the events, since head-on collisions and other contacts
Harmful ones are inevitable in sports. Furthermore, the practices that could improve the trend
from the sport to cause traumatic brain injuries, such as wear on the protection
from the head or prohibit direct blows to the head or face - compete with the presentation
of sport as raw masculinity and the mythical qualities embedded in the rise of
Benoit has fame and celebrity. The narration of the cranial trauma places the story of
Benoit along with many other professional wrestlers who died at a young age
relatively early or who had other serious medical conditions associated with their
participation. The documentary by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) about Benoit and
other fighters, titled "A Fight to the Death", exemplifies this pattern (Karp, 2008). In this
version of the story, the tragedy of Benoit became an extension of his mythical prowess
as a competitor, and the regular execution of your impressive closing move
characteristic (a maneuver known as swan dive or "flying" headbutt) is
became irresponsible.

It is easier for a sports fan to maintain a moral objection to cheating than

accept evidence that a sport can regularly cause mental injuries
permanents. Although cheating can be "part of the game," the police and the disciples
cheaters also play an important part in sports. Those who cheat
And those who fall deserve their fate, and the desire for their punishment is framed as a moral stance.
But if a sport causes players serious and unacceptable injuries, then it is the sport
in itself the one who is under moral scrutiny. A sport that mutates its players, that
by their nature, they put them on the path of unacceptable risks, it could be considered as
an illegal activity. Parents who encourage their sons and daughters to practice that sport may
to be considered morally suspect. The distancing from a sport of such
effects become crucial for maintaining your positive moral and social ethics.

The jury's explanations are intertwined with powerful cultural beliefs about the
sports and their relationship with disability and masculinity. In the narration of the rage for the
steroids, Benoit's increase in steroids is linked to his testosterone deficiency
a1lep-ed, which could be read both as a disabling condition and a type of
physiological emasculation (since it means that there was an insufficient amount of the hormone
that literally 'makes' one a man). This account of his tragedy situates his deviation
the physics of 'normal' hormone levels as the root of their problem, so that
disability and "emasculation" appear as failures that contribute to outcomes
horrible. Thus, the story of steroid rage is related to cultural systems
dominant forms of ability and hegemonic masculinity. The obverse supports this statement: the
narrative of traumatic brain injury - the only alternative medical framework provided for the
murders and suicides of the Benoits - undermines cultural conventions about sports such
healthy and masculine. Identifying a cranial trauma as the culprit tends to blame the
lucha libre in itself, and the machinations of the sport become extravagant
reckless antics, the lack of regulation or equipment to protect against injury in the
head, the notion that hard positions play in groups - the pain - becomes their flaw.
On the contrary.

with the narrative of the Page of the Void, which generally blamed personal choices
Benoit explains that the cranial trauma activity is described as
an involuntary tickle that destroys its participants. In this latest story, the part
the more real of the sporting entertainment called SmackDown is the tragic toll it takes on
the professional fighters themselves.