Vince McMahon and WWE have done a tireless job in their attempts to transcend the negative stigmas that go along with professional wrestling. While WWE has certainly become more worldly entertainment, there’s still one issue that may never go away: performance-enhancing drugs.
In an interview on the Matt Rivera Show, Dave Palumbo, the nutritionist of Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, had some revealing things to say about the loopholes in WWE’s stringent Wellness Policy.
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“The good thing about wrestling is it’s not a professional sport per se it’s for entertainment so they’re allowed to take hormones,” admitted Palumbo. “They can go to HRT places and they can get testosterone replacement, a 100 mg a week, hCG, they can do HGH if they want, those are acceptable, a lot of the wrestlers do do it, it’s not for me to say whose using what.”
While most of Palumbo’s quote may zoom past the average American, that phrase “HGH” should sound an alarm. Human Growth Horman is illegal in Major League Baseball, and the Olympics and is tested by the NFL. And without a doctor’s permission, it’s illegal in WWE, too.
From WWE’s Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy:
- Peptide Hormones and Analogues: The non-medical use of Human Growth Hormone (hGH), Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ((hCG), Luetenizing Hormone (LH) and Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF-1) is prohibited.
The human body naturally produces HGH, however, getting injections of the stuff is a much different story. In the world of professional sports, HGH is considered a performance-enhancing drug. Even more without doctor’s consent, HGH is illegal in the United States.
More: Jinder Mahal Opens Up On WWE Drug Testing
In recent years, HGH has supplanted steroid use as it’s believed to be a safer and far less detectable way to get an upper hand. While the effects of HGH are still uncertain, most athletes use it as an aid in recovery. For someone like a WWE Superstar who wrestlers 5 days a week, on top of a burial travel schedule, HGH is going to be quite appealing.
While Palumbo did assert that WWE Superstars are using HGH he erroneously thought that it was within the legal confines of WWE. The important distinction to make here is whether or not those in WWE got the OK from a doctor to use HGH. If they did, it’s still questionable morally but legally they would be exempt. However, without a doctor, this could develop into a scandal.
