Regular readers of the site know by now that this here guy is a wrestling fan.  Over the summer, I tackled the news media for their ridiculous coverage and speculation following the Chris Benoit double-murder suicide. 

This past week, CNN did their part to inaccurately portray the wrestling industry with the airing of a "documentary" titled "Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling".  Among other parts to the show, CNN aired a clip of an interview it conducted with John Cena.  The lone Cena-related clips aired as follows:

Narrator: "John Cena is a WWE Superstar now recovering from an injury in the ring.  He doesn't like being asked if he's used steroids."

Cena: "This is a crazy question.  It's something that's tough to answer just because of the way society is now, the way people conceive things because performance enhancing drugs have got  the spotlight and it's a hot thing to talk about.  I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never be able to prove that I have."   

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Sounds pretty damning, no?  The way it comes across would lead one to surmise John Cena is a doper, or at least, defensive of dopers.  In reality, the quotes were taken out of context.  What Cena said in the full interview reads as follows:

Interviewer: "Have you ever used steroids?"

Cena:"Absolutely not.  And this is a crazy question and it's something that's tough to answer just because of the way society is now, the way people conceive things, because performance enhancing drugs have got the spotlight and it's a hot thing to talk about.  Anytime you see any athlete in any athletic venture - it could be the PGA Tour - achieve physical greatness, something that is beyond the norm, even for a top tier athlete - the top tier athlete is rushing for 1,000 yards and somebody comes out and starts running people over, rushing for 2,000 - it's not athletic achievement anymore and that's something that really gets me.  It's 'he or she is on performance enhancing drugs' and it's only because certain athletes have gotten themselves into certain situations where automatically the finger is pointed at something... 'oh, they're on performance enhancing drugs.' 

My answer to that question 'have you ever used steroids' is, the only thing I can say, I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never be able to prove that I have, because each one of you, each one of you (media) out there, has an opinion on how I carry myself.  And I can take a million tests - I've been tested for drugs since I was 17 years old - I can take a million tests and pass every one of them and as soon as I pass it, there's some other guy on the other end going "aw, there's masking agents, there's this there's that."  I know the arguments because I've been in the situation.  This is a subject that is very very near and dear to me only because since I was a very small child I've worked my ass off to get where I'm at.  And it sucks to have to deal with people saying that I rely on a crutch.  I wake up every day and work myself to the bone because I love what I do."

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There was more to the interview, but you get the idea.  Kudos to CNN for continuing to suck the suckitude out of suck.  Great job of taking things out of context to fit a nice, convenient pre-written story.   

I should point out that on the re-airing of the documentary Sunday night, CNN had a different, more accurate portrayal of the John Cena interview after the WWE and John Cena called them out for their journalistic nonsense.   

And people wonder why Vince McMahon can be defensive in mainstream interviews.  

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Unedited version of Cena interview.

Edited version that aired on "Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling"

Fun message to CNN and their crappy programming.

---Email Pat Imig at patrick@joesportsfan.com---


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