In an article in the Los Angeles Times, WWE finally made a statement on the Chris Benoit brain study released yesterday by the Sports Legacy Institute. Here is an excerpt from the article:
On Wednesday, WWE officials responded to the Benoit brain report with a prepared statement:
“Today’s attempt to explain that Chris Benoit’s murder of his family was possibly caused by some form of dementia as a result of alleged concussions is speculative. WWE can certainly understand the anguish of a father having to deal with the fact that his son allegedly murdered his wife and young son, as Chris Benoit is alleged to have done. We respect the desire of that father to do whatever he can to find some explanation as to why his son might commit such horrible acts.”
Bailes said his research has shown as few as three major concussions can cause “serious, major consequences.”
Although Michael Benoit said his son suffered “quite a number” of concussions while wrestling, WWE spokeswoman Jennifer McIntosh said officials “dug around” and found “no medical records of [Benoit] suffering a concussion.
“We don’t have any answers as to why Chris did what he did. We’re still awaiting the law enforcement investigation to be concluded,” McIntosh said.
The full LA Times story can be read here. Also, ABCNews.com’s Nightline story can be found here, including the same statement from WWE as well as this interesting quote from Dr. Bailes: “There’s no consensus in the medical community that this issue of ‘roid rage  uncontrolled violence, precipitated by seemingly normal life stressors  there’s no consensus that that even exists … The changes that we see in his brain tissue were not caused by steroids. There’s no medical evidence or research that’s ever shown that anabolic steroids cause those dead neurons. Some people would even say that steroids are good for the brain, that they support the brain. They don’t destroy it.”
WWE still hasn’t responded to our request for comment on the situation.
