GRAPPLING WITH DRUG TESTING IN NEW YORK

'We Are Performers,' WWF Says

ALBANY, N.Y. - A New York lawmaker is recommending mandatory drug testing
for professional wrestlers competing in the state, saying it's not a jab at
the simulated violence but a way to protect children trying to emulate
their heroes.

"Almost all other major professional sports have adopted similar
requirements for legal participation," said Republican Sen. Thomas Libous.

Drug testing as part of the state's licensing requirements would show fans
the wrestlers are drug-free, plus it would improve the level of competition
and protect the wrestlers' health, he said.

World Wrestling Federation officials say it's a plan that hits below the belt.

"We are performers, we are showmen, he'd be drug testing everyone on
Broadway. He'd be drug testing the circus," said WWF Entertainment chairman
Vince McMahon.

"If in fact he's trying to single us out, that is unconstitutional,"
McMahon said.

Wrestlers seeking licenses to compete in New York must give references,
divulge any criminal history and submit to prematch physicals.

Libous' proposal would take that a step further by adding the drug tests
and punishment for wrestlers who fail them.

Wrestlers who tested positive for drugs once would be prohibited from
wrestling in the state for 24 hours under the proposal. A second positive
test would strip them of the license for a year and result in a fine for
their sponsors of $25,000. A third would mean a permanent ban from New York
competition and $100,000 fine for the sponsors.

Alan Sharp, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling,
said he could not comment on the proposal without having seen it.

But Sharp and McMahon said WCW and WWF wrestlers undergo pre-employment
drug tests and the WCW randomly tests its employees. The WWF said it
reserves the right to test anyone who exhibits signs of drug use.

New York would not be the first state to mandate drug tests for pro
wrestlers. In July, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber led an effort to preserve
that state's mandatory drug testing. The WWF is currently boycotting the
state because of its strict wrestling licensing requirements, McMahon said.

McMahon also disagreed with Libous' statements that professional wrestlers
are role models.

"We have roles that we play," he said, "but under no circumstances do we
hold ourselves out as role models."