Jeff Hardy’s demons and recent legal trouble have been well documented, but what’s often lost is the toll wrestling, or any physical sports, have on the body.
Whether it’s pro wrestling or football, drug and alcohol use is a problem as athletes as many self medicate to deal with their problems, whether mental or physical.
We’ve heard a lot about football players having to crawl from the bed to the bathroom the day after a game, and wrestlers may not be as beat up after a match, but the cumulative impacts they take night after night adds up.
In many instances, it’s been reported that wrestlers used to work exhausted and injured, and hence why many would need help to get through the long cycle.
Bret Hart has spoken many times about the grueling schedule in the WWE and pro wrestling in general and has openly wondered how many of his wrestling brothers and sisters would still be around had it not been for that grind.
Is AEW responsible?
We want to make it clear we’re not excusing Jeff or anyone’s drug and alcohol abuse, but there’s generally a reason we all fall into these traps and for him it could be the physical toll.
That’s something Booker T talked about on his Hall of Fame podcast and gave a different perspective than many of us consider.
“I’ve seen comments already saying AEW didn’t put the drink in his hand and didn’t put the keys in his hand and make him drive.
“Yeah, they didn’t, but I think AEW has some responsibility to bear because you go back and look at the compilation of death defying dives Jeff Hardy has pulled off since arriving in AEW, and I’m gonna tell you right there that pain comes along with that.
“When you’ve got pain, a lot of times you will go and drink or take drugs to numb the pain, and therefore, damn it, I just relapsed. Did he try to do it? Probably not. But that’s what people with addiction do. So they (AEW) do have some responsibility to bear here.”
How much responsibility AEW may or may not have is for everyone to answer for themselves, and while Tony Kahn may have suspended him we have no doubt he’ll do anything he can to help Jeff.
Fan support is also important as it helps give Jeff and others something more to work for as support can make all the difference.
Some fans have turned their backs on Jeff following his latest incident, and Booker pleaded with fans not to abandon him as well.
IN the end, the final decision on whether he’ll work through this is Jeff, but he’s done it before and he’s got plenty of reasons to get clean again.
Do you agree with Booker on this? Let us know in the comments below.
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