 |
| Angle needs more help than just a pat on the back Photo Credit: Impact Wrestling.com |
Dixie Carter gave a supporting message on Twitter, but after the third time, wouldn't anyone with half a brain think that if she wasn't going to cut Angle loose that she'd have put in some kind of wellness program after the first incident?
Truth be told however, I can't be too hard on Carter or TNA in this situation. They are only following an industry-wide standard. One might think that a DWI charge would be an automatic strike in WWE's Wellness Program, but Jack Swagger did not even lose his WrestleMania World Heavyweight Championship contendership after he got popped, let alone received any public monetary discipline or suspension. Remember, WWE is a publicly traded company, so if Swagger got punished, it would have been announced.
I wouldn't even call the neglect of drunk or high driving a problem confined only to wrestling. Major League Baseball has bent over backwards to circumvent the fairly-negotiated collective bargaining agreement to ban Alex Rodriguez for 211 games on his first offense of the performance enhancing drug policy, 211 more games than anyone has ever gotten suspended for DWI or DUI incurrences. Meanwhile, Nick Adenhart, an actual, active player for MLB at the time of his death, was killed in an accident involving a drunk driver hitting his vehicle. The attitudes towards drunk driving in the National Football League are getting better, but only after Donte Stallworth killed a man in an incident. Laughably, he was the first of at least two if not more who caused a fatality while driving under the influence to get punished for it within the league.
No matter how many people die at the hands of impaired drivers every year, attitudes towards drunk driving remain embarrassingly lax. Instead of treating each case of drunk driving as what it is, attempted manslaughter at the very least, courts allow recidivists retain or regain their licenses sometimes after offenses numbering in the double digits. Drink-driving is not a simple mistake one makes; it's a dangerous gamble that could end in loss of life, loss of health, or property damage. The fact that Angle hasn't yet killed someone is a miracle. The fact that he's been caught three times means he's probably driven impaired as a habit.
With all these points laid bare, I can't feel sorry for him, and I cannot condone the kind of sappy, lovey-dovey attitude that Carter seems to show outwardly. Yes, Angle has a problem and needs support and love, but when that comes without any kind of sternness or repercussion behind it, then love easily turns into coddling. Coddling is unhealthy.
All industries and local governments need to get tougher on DUI. However, "no one else is tough on it" is no longer an excuse. TNA and especially WWE should maybe get out in front of an issue instead of being reactionary and following the leader. If they wait for MLB to prioritize their DUI epidemic past things like PED witch hunts, they won't have realistic proactive solutions in place for another century.
Besides, action is far more crucial for wrestling than it is for team sports. In addition to providing their own transit for non-company related activities, wrestlers are expected to get to and from venues on their own. The WWE jet doesn't exist, and TNA surely doesn't even have a wrestler bus. So, if a bulk of the travel is done from town to town in cars, and companies aren't going to charter planes, then they have a moral responsibility to ensure that their travel is as safe as possible by deterring operation of a motor vehicle under the influence.
The cold truth is that Kurt Angle is not going to get better on his own. If he's allowed to get back into the same environment that fostered his three DWIs after rehab, he is going to relapse, get back behind the wheel of a car, and at the very least get popped for the same crime again. If Dixie Carter allows this to happen, and Angle kills someone while behind the wheel, whether himself or someone innocent, then the blood is on her hands. Society needs to get tougher on drunk or high driving, and honestly, if wrestling companies don't lead the charge, then they're only fostering an atmosphere where the performers are only cash cows, a reprehensible attitude at best.