The Chris Benoit biography entitled “Dungeon of Death” by Scott Klein does not unquestioningly blame steroids for the murder-suicide tragedy. Instead the author examines the significant brain damage that Benoit incurred during the course of his career as the likely culprit (”There Was No Way to Tell This Man Was a Monster,” December 2).

Spin-control was the order of the day for WWE CEO Vince McMahon, who faced accusations that he’d turned a blind eye to years of rampant steroid abuse on the part of his employees, the implication being that “roid rage” drove Benoit to commit murder and suicide. While the accusations of steroid abuse were not without merit (have you seen a professional wrestler lately? Or Vince McMahon himself, for that matter?), the consensus, 17 months later, is that the blame for Benoit’s heinous act more likely lies on his stubborn policy of refusing to protect his own body when performing his admittedly preplanned and choreographed but nonetheless destructive professional wrestling maneuvers every night.

Neurological tests performed on Benoit’s corpse revealed that years of taking steel chair blows to the head had rendered Benoit’s brain indistinguishable from that of an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient. Still, many want to blame steroids, while others prefer to believe that Benoit was simply a sick man; how many 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patients commit murder or suicide?

Keith suggests that unprotected chair shots to the head are to blame for Benoit’s madness.

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