Pro wrestler Chris Benoit had more than 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his system when he killed his wife and young son and hanged himself, it was revealed this week. However, investigators could not say if the steroids played a role in the killings.
Then we will. Ten times the normal level of testosterone is an elephant in the room that just can’t be ignored.
Dr. Kris Sperry, Georgia’s top medical examiner, said the testosterone was injected shortly before Benoit died. He said there was no evidence of any other steroids, and “nothing to show steroids played a role in the death of Nancy and Daniel Benoit.” By this, we understand him to mean that Benoit’s wife and son were not injected with steroids. We certainly hope he doesn’t mean that Benoit’s steroid use did not play any role in what happened.
Dr. Sperry told the Associated Press that there is no consensus that the use of testosterone can contribute to paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as ‘roid rage.
“There is conflicting scientific data as to whether or not testosterone creates mental disorders or leads to outbursts of rage. There’s data that suggests it and other data that refute it. Essentially, I think it’s an unanswerable question,” Dr. Sperry said.
The government managed to answer it, however, by placing anabolic steroids in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act in 1991.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse, an agency within the National Institute on Health, cites research showing that aggression and other psychiatric side effects result from the abuse of anabolic steroids. Researchers report that abusers may suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions and impaired judgment stemming from feelings of invincibility.
Other side effects include liver tumors and cancer, severe acne, shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, development of breasts and increased risk for prostate cancer.
Research shows that adolescents who use steroids can halt their growth through premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes. That is, teens trying to get bigger by using steroids can actually remain short for their entire lives by taking steroids before the typical teen growth spurt.
Steroids are bad. The evidence is overwhelming. But their use doesn’t seem to be condemned the way other illegal drugs are. Is it because they’re used to get big and strong, and not “high”? Is it because we expect our “pro” wrestlers, football and baseball players to do “whatever it takes” to win?
Perhaps Benoit himself was trying to tell people something by injecting 10 times the normal amount of testosterone into his body before killing his wife and son, and himself. He knew what the autopsy would show. Perhaps he was counting on us to connect the dots.
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