Ask the Editor ASK THE EDITOR: Reader questions regarding Benoit Family Tragedy, our coverage Jun 27, 2007 - 2:13:00 PM

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INTRODUCTION: Thanks to everyone for your emails this week regarding the Benoit family and our coverage of it. You've helped with links to news stories, radio show and TV segment summaries, reacting to our coverage, and just releasing emotions. I've read every email I've received on the Benoit situation this week and it has helped shape my coverage and direct the staff with their coverage.

The "Ask The Torch" feature had been dormant for a while in text format. I had moved it to an audio format in the VIP section where once or twice a week, I'd answer reader questions. I'm going to relaunch the text version of it, and rename it "Ask the Editor." When the feature originally began, the online resources weren't as great as they are now, so basic questions I used to be asked can now be answered via a search engine. Also, with hundreds of our PWTorch Newsletters formatted and posted online in our VIP site, the online resources for research for wrestling's history made the column less relevant, so I moved on to other areas.

So, with that said, I've changed the name to "Ask the Editor," and it will be a regular feature online where I interact with readers by responding to their questions about current events in wrestling or its history. Today, and perhaps the rest of this week, I'm going to focus on the Benoit family situation as there are a lot of good emails to respond to and further discussion of this tragic, complex week we're all experiencing. Send your questions (on any subject you'd like me to address here) to the "askthetorch07" email link at the bottom of this page and put "ATE" in the subject box so I know it's for "Ask the Editor" text version not "Ask the Torch" VIP audio version.

QUESTION: PWTorch.com reader Nathan writes: Just wanted to say thanks for your incredible coverage of the devastating Benoit situation. I have one question for you, though. I keep hearing a lot of talk about the schedule, lack of vacations, etc. (all of which I agree with by the way... but something keeps being skipped over as it relates to Benoit). Didn't Benoit take an extended leave of absence (4-6 months) between WrestleMania 22 and WrestleMania 23 to recharge his batteries and spend time with his family? So, from that standpoint, he had to be one of the freshest top/semi-top guys in the company when he committed the crime. Anyway, just hadn't seen it mentioned at all and if it was and I missed it. Sorry in advance.

WK: I don't think taking a leave of absence for health, family crisis, injury, or surgery counts anywhere near the same way as systematic, predictable, consistent twice-yearly six-week breaks over the course of a whole career. When someone reaches a breaking point physically or mentally and takes time off to recover, that entire time, they're not only coping with a problem that's manifested, but worried about "losing their spot" to another "more durable, more reliable" colleague. The bar is set so high by the rare wrestlers who can fully endure the WWE's grind for years that those who aren't as well equipped to deal with WWE schedule pay a heavy price. That's why consistent, systematic, predictable vacations are key. Then spouses can look forward to and plan for their partner coming home for a long enough stretch to unwind for a week or two, go on a three week cruise, and then unwind again or help with projects around the house before another reasonable stretch or four or five months on tour, with the typical 3-4 days between tours, which includes travel, unpacking, packing, and travelling again.

QUESTION: PWTorch.com David Everard asks: Thanks for your outstanding coverage on this sensitive issue. The only real concern I have at this point, unless I missed something in the avalanche of information surrounding this issue, is the automatic presumption of his guilt. While it certainly looks like he may have done it, should we automatically assume his guilt? Perhaps we should consider all the evidence, including the lack of a suicide note, before we pronounce him guilty? After all, aren't we supposed to presume innocence until proven guilty? It may very well be that he did it, but until we know for certain, let's wait for all the evidence before we pass verdict.

WK: The district attorney was asked something similar in an interview on a cable news network last night. He said there was no signed of forced entry. Based on the coroner's educated timetable for the deaths, Benoit was communicating with friends in WWE about his wife being sick when she was already dead. He never made a 9-1-1 call. He sent text messages to two friends' cell phones consistent with being the murderer about to commit suicide. There simply is nothing pointing toward anything but his guilt. That doesn't prove his guilt, but it's overwhelming enough, with local authorities setting the tone, to approach the story with that as the likely way events played out.

SUBJECT: I've had emails on both sides of the equation regarding showing any signs of sympathy or any attempts to understand Chris Benoit's actions. Here are two contrasting examples worthy of publishing:

Todd Gail of Houston Tex.: I would like to thank you for your insightful, thorough and intelligent article. Too often people forget the consequences of constant stresses in life - especially when it comes to a person's mental health. Even the most common and mundane occurrences add up. To make matters worse, people often confuse fear for shame or cowardice, and irrational - sometimes uncontrollable - behavior as the acts of an evil, deranged person. Few people bother to step back and think about the torment that can be afflicted on a person's mind, because it's not always easy to see until it's too late. Chris Benoit did what he did and for that responsibility must fall to him. But it could have been prevented. It should have been. And thank you for taking the time to notice that.

Bruce B.: First of all, let me say the Torch has done an outstanding job of reporting this terrible story. Just great work under obviously difficult circumstances. Given that, I hate to sound negative, but I have to take exception with Wade Keller's characterizations of Chris Benoit as a "great guy" who "loved his family." That's not true. Great guys don't commit murder. Men who love their families don't kill their wives and children. Ultimately, we are defined by our actions and by murdering the two people closest to him, Chris Benoit defined himself as evil. People naturally want to find some rational explanation for the unexplainable, be it steroids, concussions, the travel grind, etc. But at the end of the day, we all are faced with adversities and we all must choose how we deal with those challenges. Chris Benoit chose to commit acts of unspeakable evil - acts that negate anything else he ever did inside or outside of the ring. So let's not waste our pity, sympathy or even understanding on such a monster. He doesn't deserve it. Instead, let's focus our energies on the true victims of this crime - Daniel and Nancy - and commit ourselves to making the moral decisions that Chris Benoit failed to make.

WK: In the end, Benoit acted out in a way it is inexcusable. Nobody is looking to "excuse" Benoit's actions. But understanding them can help everyone cope with this tragedy, and also perhaps learn enough that action can be taken or warning signs can be noticed so that anything resembling this might be avoided in the future. Nancy and Daniel were victims in the truest sense of the word, there is no doubt about that, and whatever attempts are made to understand Chris's actions should never be confused with equating him as a victim in the same sense as Daniel and Nancy.

Check back for the next "Ask the Editor" later today or later this week. Depending on interest level, I may attempt to make this a daily feature at PWTorch.com (on general wrestling topics in the long run, obviously - not just the Benoit family story).

Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

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