WASHINGTON -- Congress, which has examined steroid policies in baseball, football and basketball in the past few years, must now address allegations of "rampant" steroid use in professional wrestling, says a Florida lawmaker.
"Between 1985 and 2006, 89 wrestlers have died before the age of 50," Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns said yesterday. "Of course, not all of these deaths can be attributed to steroid use. However, this abnormally high number of deaths of young, fit athletes should raise congressional alarms."
Stearns' call follows the death last month of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, who strangled his wife and 7-year-old son before hanging himself. Steroids were found in Benoit's home, although it's unclear whether they played a role in the slayings.
World Wrestling Entertainment was hearing about Stearns' statements for the first time and had no immediate comment, WWE spokesman Kevin Hennessy said last night.
Stearns was involved in the steroid investigations of Major League Baseball and other sports when Republicans controlled Congress before the November 2006 elections. He lost his subcommittee chairmanship after the elections and says Democrats must pursue the issue now because they are the majority party in the House.
"At this time, I do not believe that the new House majority sees steroid use as a serious issue," Stearns said in an e-mail interview. "I urge chairman [Bobby] Rush of the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee to hold a hearing to determine the prevalence of steroid use in professional wrestling and the means of ending their use."
Rush, an Illinois Democrat, was studying the issue, spokesman Toure Muhammad said.
Rush has been active in combating steroid use in other sports. He recently wrote to George Mitchell, who is leading an independent review of steroids in baseball, and said he was "fully prepared" to intervene if Mitchell needs his help in compelling players' testimony.
WWE began a drug-testing program after the death of Benoit's friend, Eddie Guerrero, in 2005. Guerrero died from heart failure linked to drug use.
"A lot of people will swear by it, but a lot of people in wrestling consider it a joke," Dave Meltzer, editor of Wrestling Observer, said yesterday of the WWE's drug-testing program.
Meltzer said he wasn't surprised that Congress seemed to disregard professional wrestling for years, even as lawmakers famously subpoenaed baseball players such as Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro in 2005 to discuss steroid use in their sport. Congress also held hearings in 2005 on the steroid policies of the NFL, NBA and NHL - but not professional wrestling.
"One of the reasons wrestling's been able to have this culture go unchecked for so long is that it's not a sport," Meltzer said. "There have been very few articles by sportswriters looking at this. It's been underneath the radar."
Stearns said it is the role of Congress "to investigate the recent events and find out how big of a problem steroid use is in professional wrestling."
The congressman said steroids pose a health issue for users, and that pro athletes' behavior is often emulated by youths.
"Millions of young wrestling fans, for better or for worse, look up to professional wrestlers as role models," Stearns said.
It is a felony under the Anabolic Steroid Act of 1990 to use and distribute the drugs.
It's rare, although not unprecedented, for Congress to intervene and set policy for sports associations. More commonly, lawmakers suggest legislative remedies as a prod and then back off.
jeff.barker@baltsun.com