The death of The Ultimate Warrior earlier this week has led to a lot of discussion about steroid use in professional wrestling. The WWE legend was just 54 years old when he collapsed outside a hotel in Arizona and died suddenly. Warrior, whose real name is James Hellwig, has admitted he used steroids during his wrestling career.
On Wednesday night, Nancy Grace had a segment on Headline News dedicated to drug use among current and former WWE wrestlers. During the coverage, a list ran that showed a number of wrestlers who died at a young age as Grace spoke with an expert about the dangers of anabolic steroids. One of the names on the list was Owen Hart.
Wrestling fans can tell you that Hart died at 33 in one of the most tragic and shocking accidents in WWE history. An equipment malfunction resulted in Hart falling to his death during a WWE pay-per-view event. Former wrestler Mark Curtis, who died of stomach cancer at 38, also appeared on the list.
While Grace did not say that Hart and Curtis died because of drug use, that was clearly the theme of the segment. WWE legend Mick Foley called for Grace to apologize.
We all make mistakes @NancyGraceHLN. Please admit you made one regarding the death of #OwenHart. You have caused his family great pain.
— Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) April 10, 2014
And as The Big Lead noted, it is far too early to determine if steroid use was a contributing factor in The Ultimate Warrior’s death. While we certainly agree that steroid use is dangerous, throwing names of the deceased around and associating them with drug use is irresponsible journalism.
Also see: Ultimate Warrior speech on RAW is chilling in light of death (Video)
