Randy Orton Suspended By WWE For 60 days
Posted by David Damage on Thursday, May 31, 2012
Under: News
Randy Orton was suspended for his second Wellness program violation (failed drug test).
Orton has been suspended three times, but this is only his second
suspension for violating the Wellness guidelines. The third suspension
was for behavior issues - from taking dumps in the bags of women in the
company, to wrecking hotel rooms and other issues.
Three violations of the Wellness policy results in termination from the company, so if he fails one more drug test, then he's terminated according to their rules.
Let me just say that there is no way WWE will release Orton even if he fails a 10th drug test.
They will send him to rehab and do a "The Viper Battles His Demons" 3 DVD set to cash in on it, by they will not release Orton.
WWE
announced Wednesday that Randy Orton has been suspended for 60 days for
his second violation of the company's Talent Wellness Program. Though
it is his third suspension by the organization, it legitimately is his
second violation of the company's Talent Wellness Program.
Orton was suspended for 60 days on April 3, 2006 for "unprofessional
conduct," which did not count as a Wellness Program infraction. He
discussed the suspension during an interview published in the September
2006 issue of WWE Magazine.
While discussing his issues with
anger management, Orton stated, "My problems came to a head when I
decided to smoke a joint and someone smelled it and stooged me off. You
know who you are, so if you're reading this, thanks. But I also had a
few outbursts of anger on the road. I get loud and verbally abusive. But
I've nipped that part of me in the bud. I attended an anger management
clinic in Atlanta. It cost 15 grand for a four-week stay. I had to live
down there on the campus. The first week I was there, I was like, OK,
I'll do what I have to do to get out of here." But then I started to
realize, wow, I was wrong in a lot of these situations. I just got this
reputation of being hard to work with, being a dick and everything in
the book. But the truth is, I don't flip out anymore."
On
August 30, 2007, WWE suspended eleven performers (Booker T, Charlie
Haas, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Masters, Edge, Funaki, Gregory Helms, John
Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Umaga and William Regal) based on information
provided to the organization by the Albany, New York, District
Attorney's Office concerning contracted talent using online
pharmaceutical outlet Signature Pharmacy to obtain performance enhancing
drugs. Both Sports Illustrated and the Daily News of New York City
independently identified Orton as a client of the Orlando based
pharmacy, which Albany County and Florida law enforcement agencies
raided in February 2007 for distributing steroids and other prescription
drugs to clients who had not been examined by doctors. Orton received
somatropin, nandrolone, stanozolol between September 2004 and February
2007, which occurred after the "no drugs from online sources" rule was
instituted in the Talent Wellness Program. However, he was the lone
contracted performer not to be suspended by WWE. WWE did not suspend
Orton because he had already been suspended for a drug policy violation
in August 2006, resulting in double jeopardy. The ruling appeared
suspect since Orton continued to receive pharmaceuticals following the
suspension. Dr. David L. Black, who administers the program, was asked
about the matter on September 25, 2007 during an U.S. Congressional
investigation into WWE's business practices.
Brian Cohen, a
senior investigator and policy advisor for the United States House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked Black, "There is
another talent of Randy Orton who had be suspended in 2006, for not
having—tested positive without a prescription, and he was mentioned in
this article as well, and subsequently went to headline two pay-per-view
events, but in the past month. I just wonder if that kind of—I know the
policy would be suspended for 60 days; correct? Does that undermine
your efforts when you see this happening, when you see a guy who has
been in an article last week and then headlines these events?"
Black replied, "Oh, sure I would agree that that's not good."
WWE attorney Jerry S. McDevitt stated in 2010 in a letter to Concussion
Inc author Irvin Muchnick that no action was taken against Orton
because he was not on any customer list for Signature Pharmacy provided
to WWE by the Albany, New York, District Attorney's Office. WWE,
however, did not threaten Sports Illustrated with legal action.
Rumours are that Randy Orton violated the WWE Wellness Policy after testing positive for Dianabol and marijuana.
Marijuana isn't punishable by suspension in WWE, just a $2,500 fine. The report states that Orton tested positive for marijuana, was fined and then tested again for other substances where he tested positive for use of Dianabol. Dianabol (methandrostenolone) is an orally-effective anabolic steroid. Dianabol was commonly used by bodybuilders until Congress banned it under the Controlled Substances Act.
With WWE's sixty-day suspension of Randy Orton for his second violation of the Talent Wellness Program last Wednesday, the sentiment within the organization is that management is getting serious about drug testing since he is a top star. It has been widely speculated in the past that WWE officials selectively enforced drug testing policy violations based on a wrestler's importance to the organization.
Since last July, WWE has handed out ten suspensions to nine performers (Andy Leavine, Darren Young, Evan Bourne, Heath Slater, Mike Chioda, R-Truth, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara), the most within a one-year period since WWE began publicly announcing all Talent Wellness Program violations on November 1, 2007. From November 2008 up until the July 2011 announcement of Sin Cara's suspension, the company had only issued one suspension (to Rey Mysterio).
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