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Sep. 11th, 2014 03:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99Wrestling - where suddenly hearing about one of your old favourites is never a good thing.
As I said on tumblr, the only thing I can compare it to is that period in cycling where, if you heard the sport in a non-sports context it was because someone else had tested positive for something or someone else had been found dead in a hotel room.
And the thing is, cycling only became clean (if it is clean, and they've not just found a different way of doping), not because of anything the fans did, nor did it come from the riders, but because the sponsors were threatening to pull out and then several of them did.
Basically, companies like HTC said, we don't care if it's not our riders testing positive, we don't want our brand even vaguely associated with doping. And that stopped it (or made it a lot sneakier). Because the teams are utterly dependent on sponsorships (for historical reasons, they don't get much if any tv money, and the fans watch for free), they had to sort themselves out.
The really interesting thing was that it wasn't d'affair Armstrong that did it, everyone was willing to just consign that behind the veil of forgetfulness, it was that the newer "clean" riders weren't.
Wrestling's problem is that it's an unholy mix of art, a sport where people get hit in the head (because boxing and boxers face many similar problems) and a sport where players are pretty much on 365 (like cycling and tennis) but it sort of falls between the cracks between them. That's also been amplified by Vince McMahon's ability to rebrand wrestling as sports entertainment, so it doesn't come under the purview of the SGA (or the other one) who wouldn't let actors undergo the treatment wrestlers get, nor do they have a professional association like the tennis players have in the ATP. Wrestlers don't even get the protection boxers get of having to pass a medical on a regular basis, and of being checked for damage after fights.
You'll notice I blame Vince McMahon for this, but I'd love to know what everyone else's excuse is. This is not a race to the bottom. I think part of the problem is that a lot of wrestling companies are run by people who this system hasn't utterly screwed over so they don't see the problem. It's not quite 'I'm alright jack," but it's not far short.
There's got to be a way to fix it, but I've got no idea what it is. I have no idea if the WWE's ex-workers help scheme is just a sticky plaster or if the next guy in charge has noticed that at least 3 of his friends have major substance abuse issues that weren't helped by being wrestlers, but beyond that ...
As I said on tumblr, the only thing I can compare it to is that period in cycling where, if you heard the sport in a non-sports context it was because someone else had tested positive for something or someone else had been found dead in a hotel room.
And the thing is, cycling only became clean (if it is clean, and they've not just found a different way of doping), not because of anything the fans did, nor did it come from the riders, but because the sponsors were threatening to pull out and then several of them did.
Basically, companies like HTC said, we don't care if it's not our riders testing positive, we don't want our brand even vaguely associated with doping. And that stopped it (or made it a lot sneakier). Because the teams are utterly dependent on sponsorships (for historical reasons, they don't get much if any tv money, and the fans watch for free), they had to sort themselves out.
The really interesting thing was that it wasn't d'affair Armstrong that did it, everyone was willing to just consign that behind the veil of forgetfulness, it was that the newer "clean" riders weren't.
Wrestling's problem is that it's an unholy mix of art, a sport where people get hit in the head (because boxing and boxers face many similar problems) and a sport where players are pretty much on 365 (like cycling and tennis) but it sort of falls between the cracks between them. That's also been amplified by Vince McMahon's ability to rebrand wrestling as sports entertainment, so it doesn't come under the purview of the SGA (or the other one) who wouldn't let actors undergo the treatment wrestlers get, nor do they have a professional association like the tennis players have in the ATP. Wrestlers don't even get the protection boxers get of having to pass a medical on a regular basis, and of being checked for damage after fights.
You'll notice I blame Vince McMahon for this, but I'd love to know what everyone else's excuse is. This is not a race to the bottom. I think part of the problem is that a lot of wrestling companies are run by people who this system hasn't utterly screwed over so they don't see the problem. It's not quite 'I'm alright jack," but it's not far short.
There's got to be a way to fix it, but I've got no idea what it is. I have no idea if the WWE's ex-workers help scheme is just a sticky plaster or if the next guy in charge has noticed that at least 3 of his friends have major substance abuse issues that weren't helped by being wrestlers, but beyond that ...
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Date: 2014-09-16 02:02 pm (UTC)