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Vince McMahon, the larger-than-life chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), rejected criticism from lawmakers who angrily accused him Wednesday of skipping a subcommittee hearing regarding drug use in sports.
McMahon, who has endured media criticism over the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by wrestlers and for the deaths of many former entertainers in his company, said the criticism was “unfair and inaccurate.”
Speaking to The Hill, he said that he had already told the committee that a scheduling conflict would prevent him from attending, but that he had cooperated in full.
“I am not hiding from anything here,” McMahon said in an interview. “That is just not the case. It is unfair to say that I refused to come.”
McMahon was harshly criticized for his non-appearance by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee for Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The hearing was the first sign by Capitol Hill that Major League Baseball would not be the exclusive focus of its look into athletes’ use of steroids, human growth hormone (HGH) and other performance-enhancing drugs. Congress’s probe has broadened beyond the theatrics of pitcher Roger Clemens’s testimony two weeks ago — now being referred to the Justice Department for a perjury investigation — as lawmakers seem determined to offer legislation that would set federal guidelines for drug testing for all sports.
Executives from America’s major sports leagues and players’ unions put up stiff resistance to calls from lawmakers to find a federal solution to the problem of performance-enhancing drugs. Many of the representatives for baseball, basketball, football and ice hockey told members that legislation to rid their respective games of steroids, HGH and other such drugs was not necessary since they already heeded Congress’s demands to clean up their acts several years ago.
WWE has been plagued by allegations of steroid use by its wrestlers. In denouncing McMahon, Rush cited the tragedy of Chris Benoit, a WWE performer who committed suicide last year after killing his wife and child. Benoit had anabolic steroids in his system, according to a toxicology report.
Rush said he was “extremely disappointed” with McMahon for not coming to Capitol Hill Wednesday. In remarks at the hearing, the Illinois Democrat promised to pursue the matter of performance-enhancing drugs further with or without the cooperation of McMahon.
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