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CNN did not apologize for original editing of "Death Grip" documentary, despite a request by John Cena and heavy ragging on the network by WWE.

Their statement, from CNN P.R. Director Jennifer Dargan, is as follows:

CNN felt that Mr. Cena's statement in the interview: "My answer to that question 'have you ever used steroids' is -- the only thing I can say - I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never be able to prove that I have" was a more expansive and complete answer - and that's why we used it in the first run of the program. And we stand by that decision. But, we added the other quote on the Sunday replay where Mr. Cena first denied using steroids. We did this because of his complaint and the attention it received so that viewers could see how he said it both times."

KELLER ANALYSIS: There have been many occasions over the years that WWE made gross judgments in errors, creatively took a chance that backfired and came across as in terrible taste, was caught in a bold-faced lie - and I don't remember many (or any) apologies. So it's tough to feel too sorry for WWE that they didn't get the apology they asked for. Also - and this was by design, I believe - WWE ragged on CNN so hard so fast, there was no room for CNN to save face. WWE went overboard in the criticism of CNN before CNN had a chance to provide an explanation, so people being people and human nature as it is, CNN was likely in no mood to be charitable to WWE given their schoolyard heavy-handed reaction right away.

I don't think WWE wanted an apology. I think that was the last thing they wanted. They want to be able to shift attention away from whether Cena has really ever taken steroids - or, more pertinently - whether Cena considers testosterone a steroid and whether he's taking any of that - for "therapeutic reasons" or otherwise - or whether Cena takes any amounts of growth hormone. CNN didn't ask those questions specifically, and they should have (along with whether he's taking any insulin, which in combination with low ("therapeutic") levels of testosterone and growth hormone can lead to massive muscle size gain.

CNN, though, is a news organization, not a wrestling organization. Their response is lame. They didn't acknowledge that Cena's wording may have been meant differently than they interpreted it. As I've written, I think Cena was wrong to use the wording he did, because it comes across flat out as sorta refusing to deny he used steroids, when he meant something entirely different. However, it's less ambiguous when the words before and after his statement are included. It becomes pretty clear at that point that when he said the words CNN included, it was part of a context of how he's throwing his hands in the air because no matter how many times he says he's not on steroids, people won't believe him. That's what he meant - I believe - when said he's learned that he can't tell people he hasn't, but he does know they can never prove he has.

CNN should have simply said that they see in retrospect how the quotes chosen didn't fully represent the spirit of what Cena said, but his wording was such that they didn't think twice about it until WWE and Cena made their case that his words should have been interpreted differently. It seemed as if CNN's lawyers made sure nowhere in that statement was anything that could get them in trouble in court should WWE choose to sue. WWE won't, though, because to prove slander, you have to prove malice - and if CNN had malice, they could have come down a lot harder from an editorial point-of-view standpoint than they did with the documentary. WWE doesn't want Cena under oath testifying about his drug use, no matter what his background of use or isn't, and that might be something that would happen in a slander case. It would just draw more attention to an issue WWE wants to go away.

What WWE doesn't want is for the CNN controversy to go away. As long as people are talking about CNN's poor judgment in editing the story - which hurt a reputation of a multi-millionaire who is still adored by his fans, maybe more so now than before this controversy - and not talking about whether the 30ish wrestlers today are in denial about what health problems they're going to have in five, ten, fifteen years because they're following a different, but still dangerous lifestyle path, as those who have died from the previous generation (you know, the ones who are now dead but had the same attitude at age 30 that today's generation has), then WWE wins. As long as fans are scrutinizing the Wellness Policy and looking at the stack of evidence that it's insufficient or incomplete, WWE wins.

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