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KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER: Now WWE's getting serious - going public with policy violations Aug 30, 2007 - 3:57:00 PM
WWE sent the following statement to me and other media and mailing list members today...
STAMFORD, Conn., August 30, 2007 - Based on independent information received from investigators from the Albany County, NY D.A.'s office, WWE has today, under the penalty provisions of its wellness policy, issued suspension notices to 10 of its performers for violations. It has been WWE's practice not to release the names of those who have been suspended, but notice has been sent to all WWE performers that names of anyone who is suspended under the Wellness Policy as of November 1 will be made public.
If you work for WWE, it's your choice. If WWE has a policy and you violate it, they should have the right to go public with it - as long as you know that's the policy ahead of time. It's always been my belief that if WWE were serious about this policy, the best way to put pressure on wrestlers is to go public with violations.
This policy change is the biggest step toward WWE getting very serious about testing. Having more transparency is a huge step.
I'd also like to see them announce on the corporate site when tests take place and how many were tested.
The latest version of the policy should also be posted, and whenever updated, notice should be given and the change should be dated.
The closer WWE gets to running its tests like the state athletic commissons do, with public announcements of suspensions, the more seriously performers will take it, and the more assured fans can be that the performers in WWE are being held accountable by a real system.
The next step would be for WWE to encourage state athletic commissions to re-regulate them so there's a truly independent added layer of testing that would be less apt to be doubted because it isn't being operated in-house by a doctor and agency who are profiting from WWE's satisfaction with the job they're doing as a testing service.
WWE should have done this ten years ago. Or five years ago. Or three years ago. It's a shame they didn't, because lives might have been saved. But there comes a point where while that can be noted, they also deserve applause for taking some major steps - albeit under the threat of a Congressional investigation and media scrutiny.
This step is the first step toward a five year rebuilding process of trust. They cannot and should not expect everyone to applaud them right now or even in six months. The statue of limitations on being held accountable for having little or no serious drug testing policy for years has not been reached yet. But if they do this for five years, around that time they can begin bragging.
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