'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's Ex-Wife Claims Abuse, Steroid Use
Piece this morning from Fox Colorado regarding Debra Williams reacting to the Chris Benoit murder-suicide
by Jon Bowman
DENVER -- "He did them, I saw him do them!" said Debra Williams, ex-wife of the World Wrestling Entertainment star Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Ms. Williams says, "The domestic and drug abuse is out of hand in the WWE and something needs to be done about it."
Williams had been married to Steve McMichaels, the one-time Chicago Bear football player. When she first began working with the Atlanta-base World Championship Wrestling organization.
When that group was acquired by WWF now WWE, she divorced and married Austin.
"In the last ten years, 60 wrestlers under age 45 have died... all in the prime of their lives. Big strong men, who somehow die with little or no investigation of the organization that encourages performers to use muscle enhancing drugs," said Williams.
Steroids have been linked to the deaths of several professional wrestlers in recent years. Eddie Guerrero, one of Benoit's best friends, died in 2005 from heart failure linked to long-term steroid use.
The father of Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig blamed steroids and painkillers for Hennig's drug overdose death in 2003. Davey Boy Smith, the "British Bulldog," died in 2002 from heart failure
that a coroner said was probably caused by steroids.
The WWE, based in Stamford, Conn., issued a statement Tuesday evening saying steroids "were not and could not be related to the cause of death."
But "roid rage" is common among those who take the drugs to make their bodies bigger and stronger.
Ms. Williams claims she and Nancy Benoit's stories are very similar.
Both sought help from law enforcement because of domestic abuse. In 2003, Benoit sought a divorce from Chris Benoit saying he physically abused her, she also asked the courts for a restraining order. Williams did the same thing on the third occasion when she says she was attacked by ‘Stone Cold.’
Williams says, like Benoit, Austin all but forced her to write a letter to authorities saying her complaint was a mistake. But in Williams’ case, the courts put Austin on probation for a year. In return, Ms. Williams was placed under a gag order, forcing her to remain silent about the "dark side" of professional wrestling, filled with drugs, booze and domestic abuse.
"If only I had spoken up sooner, maybe Nancy and her little boy would be alive today... that's why I'm going public now, something has to change!"
