Lex Luger has refuted the notion that he ‘killed’ Miss Elizabeth, but acknowledged that his actions did play a role in her death on May 1, 2003. Luger was the one to call 9-1-1 to report that Elizabeth was not breathing, with her cause of death being ruled as an overdose.
For years, many have blamed Luger for Miss Elizabeth’s passing, as the pair had a toxic relationship, including a reported domestic dispute weeks before her passing. On the Insight podcast, Luger reflected on the notion that his lifestyle of drink and drugs killed the ‘First Lady of Wrestling.’
“People go, ‘Well, he killed Elizabeth.’ Well, I didn’t kill her. But was I a contributing factor to the lifestyle I was living and her being around me all the time and she overdosed? Absolutely.”
When asked if he takes responsibility, Luger confessed that this is the case.
“Absolutely. Sure, there’s always collateral damage to lifestyles like that, and she was part of it. So absolutely. Sadly.”
Though many would see Elizabeth’s passing as Luger’s rock bottom, that is far from the case. As Lex explained, the death of Miss Elizabeth would only speed up his spiralling into depression.
“I felt completely unlovable… I hate to admit it, who I was back then, Instead of being so grieving over the loss of Liz, I was grieving over what this would do to me and my career.”
Miss Elizabeth, real name Elizabeth Ann Hulette, was buried with a simple headstone in her hometown of Frankfort, Kentucky. Sadly, fans will never know what would have become of ‘Liz’ had the destructive nature of substance abuse sadly common in pro wrestling had not claimed her as a victim.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony airs Tuesday night on Peacock and the WWE Network. Several performers will take their rightful place in the Hall of Fame, but there are several wrestlers who are overlooked year after year.
Below we look at some of the top names still missing from the WWE Hall of Fame. They are listed in no particular order:
If you weren’t a WWF fan in the 1980s, it’s hard to describe just what Miss Elizabeth meant to the company at the time. Even though she barely spoke, her presence was something that was larger than life. She was the centerpiece of the year-long angle between “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan between WrestleMania IV and V. Elizabeth’s class and elegance was unlike anything else wrestling had seen at the time or since.
Booker T recently spent some time on his podcast discussing his belief that Miss Elizabeth should be in the Hall of Fame.
“Lovely Elizabeth definitely deserves her spot inside the Hall of Fame,” Booker T said.
“Elizabeth, of course, she wasn’t a wrestler, but what she gave to the business and the footprint that she left is definitely something — we’re talking about it right now — it’s definitely something that’s going to be remembered for many, many years.”
“I don’t think there would’ve been a King Booker and Queen Sharmell if there wasn’t the Macho Man Randy Savage and the lovely Elizabeth. I just don’t think it would’ve been. The Macho Man, finger up in the air, and King Booker’s pinky up in the air, it never would’ve happened if it wouldn’t have been for the Macho Man and the lovely Elizabeth. So, I think it’s yes, she deserves a spot inside the Hall of Fame. Hopefully, she’ll get there.”
Lex Luger
There was a point in time when Vince McMahon hand-picked Lex Luger to be Hulk Hogan’s successor. He was decked out in red, white, and blue and traveled across the country in the Lex Express as if he campaigning to be elected as the new Hogan. He slammed Yokozuna on the 4th of July and was set to become America’s next big hero. It didn’t really take off, however, and it would be Bret Hart who would defeat Yokozuna for the title at WrestleMania X.
Mick Foley recently spent some time talking about why he feels Lex Luger should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
“In the simplest terms, Lex Luger was far too big of a star not to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. He was one of the very biggest stars of his era, and during his heyday – 1987-1999 – he headlined more pay-per-view shows, sold more tickets, and appeared on more magazine covers than all but a select few superstars of his era,” Foley wrote.
“For comparison’s sake, I consider myself a pretty solid choice for the WWE Hall of Fame. I certainly don’t remember any type of outcry coming from people who did not think I deserved induction. My career covered the same general era as Luger’s – give or take a few years. I headlined 10 PPV main events in my career – about half as many as Lex. I appeared on the cover of PWI twice. And I was a pretty darn important guy in the business. But so was Lex – and unlike me, he had the pressure of carrying his promotion for months on end.”
Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen Hart will never go into the WWE Hall of Fame because that’s not what his wife and kids want. A reckless act robbed that family of Owen for the rest of their lives. Owen Hart is honored in the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum in Texas, and the Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame.
That Owen Hart will never be in the WWE Hall of Fame is a black eye on the company and the Hall of Fame itself. His glaring omission from it will always be present.
Owen Hart’s legacy is celebrated through the Owen Hart Foundation and the charitable work it does.
Demolition
Demolition
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was no more dominate a tag-team in WWE than Demolition. Ax and Smash set the record for the longest single reign of the WWE Tag Team Championships with a 478 day reign beginning at WrestleMania IV. It would be decades until New Day topped the record.
Demolition was a major part of WWE during their time in the company. Both were part of a class-action lawsuit against WWE regarding the impacts of traumatic brain injuries to wrestlers under its employ, however. The lawsuit was eventually tossed out but Demolition’s inclusion in it may be what is keeping them out of the HOF.
In an interview from 2016, Bret Hart spoke about several tag-teams omitted from the Hall of Fame and made special mention of Demolition.
“There’s so many people that they haven’t called forward to be in there. If you’re going to induct The Freebirds, and I have no objection to that, but what about Demolition?” Bret Hart asked when speaking to WrestleZone about the Fabulous Freebirds induction in 2016.
“It’s all great that The Freebirds did what they did down in Texas and whatnot. They never made history in the WWE so much as The Bulldogs, Demolition or The Hart Foundation.”
Woman (Nancy Benoit)
There is no secret as to why Nancy Benoit has not been honored in the WWE Hall of Fame. WWE does not seem interested in drudging up history that doesn’t reflect well on the company, even if it is to honor someone who deserves it. Nancy Benoit is not the only one omitted from the WWE Hall of Fame for this reason.
Nancy Benoit did so much during her 13-year career in wrestling. From debuting in Florida Championship Wrestling to her time as a valet with the Four Horsemen, Woman always brought a strong presence with her.
Last year, Mick Foley made a plea for Nancy Benoit to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
“For the past thirteen years, Nancy Benoit’s life has been largely defined in the public eye by how she died. I think it’s about time we changed that way of thinking. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could pause for a moment to remember instead, how she lived, how she worked, and to reflect on what her legacy in pro wrestling should be?” Foley wrote.
“Inducting Nancy Toffoloni into the WWE Hall of Fame is the right thing to do. Let us remember her, and define her for who she was and what she did in life.”
Many fans feel that one notable omission from the WWE Hall of Fame currently is the lovely Miss Elizabeth. Booker T recently spent some time talking about her on his Hall of Fame podcast with Brad Gilmore.
“I echo the sentiment. Lovely Elizabeth definitely deserves her spot inside the Hall of Fame,” Booker T said.
“Elizabeth, of course, she wasn’t a wrestler, but what she gave to the business and the footprint that she left is definitely something — we’re talking about it right now — it’s definitely something that’s going to be remembered for many, many years.”
“I don’t think there would’ve been a King Booker and Queen Sharmell if there wasn’t the Macho Man Randy Savage and the lovely Elizabeth. I just don’t think it would’ve been. The Macho Man, finger up in the air, and King Booker’s pinky up in the air, it never would’ve happened if it wouldn’t have been for the Macho Man and the lovely Elizabeth. So, I think it’s yes, she deserves a spot inside the Hall of Fame. Hopefully, she’ll get there.”
Elizabeth Ann Hulette was with WWE from 1985 to 1992 and then WCW from 1996 to 2000. She passed away in 2003 at the age of 43.
Booker T’s full comments about Elizabeth can be viewed in the player below:
– Below is the latest episode of “Celtic Warrior Workouts” from RAW Tag Team Champion Sheamus’ YouTube channel, featuring a boxing & MMA session with Sheamus’ combat coach Josh Rafferty at Optimum Gym South Tampa.
– Prior to facing Natalya tonight at WWE Payback, WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte threw out the first pitch at today’s Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves game at Wrigley Field (with Ric Flair by her side).
– In this video, WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan talks about “Macho Man” Randy Savage and how his wife was close with Miss Elizabeth since they traveled together. Duggan also says he enjoyed working with Savage in WWE since he could brawl and fly.
Speaking of Miss Elizabeth, today marks the 13th anniversary of her passing. On May 1, 2003, in Marietta, Georgia, live-in boyfriend Lex Luger called 9-1-1 to report that Elizabeth was not breathing. She did not respond to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and paramedics rushed her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. A medical examiner listed her cause of death as “acute toxicity”, brought on by a mix of painkillers and vodka. She was 42-years-old.
Sports Illustrated Extra’s “Mustard Blog” recently put together a lengthy piece on 2015 WWE Hall Of Famer “Macho Man” Randy Savage, talking to a number of WWE legends about the iconic performer. Below are some of the highlights.
Jerry Lawler on working with Savage:
“The first time we worked together, when it was ‘promotion against promotion,’ we sold out at the arena with 23,000 people. That was unheard of in wrestling. But Randy was so cool. He was a great athlete, and he was a little bit out there. He had a bit of a temper, and he was moody at times, but he was his own guy. I really grew to respect him.”
Steve Austin on Savage:
“Macho Man, that guy’s stuff back when he was in Tennessee, was incredible. His intensity, his promo style—he was the Macho Man 24/7, 365—and he was that before he got to the WWF. Vince [McMahon] didn’t make him, he made himself. Vince then made him a superstar all over the world.”
Gene Okerlund, Hulk Hogan and Ted DiBiase on Savage’s relationship with Miss Elizabeth:
Okerlund: “Randy was a loose cannon. In the early days, Randy was very protective of Elizabeth to the point where it bothered a lot of the boys. But what could you do, take it to Vince McMahon and make yourself look like a powder puff? You just ignored it and worked with it.”
Hogan: “If you even looked at Elizabeth the wrong way, then, Holy s—. Randy would freak out. If you ever wanted to get him lit up, you’d just have to look at Liz.”
DiBiase: “I would never consider having my wife around a bunch of wrestlers. Randy tried to protect Elizabeth, but that created some tension between the two of them.”
Daniel Bryan on Savage:
“I’d love to be this era’s Macho Man. There are a lot of similarities between the two of us. He was so good and just had that connection with the crowd. You can watch him to this day, he’s so entertaining.”
Ric Flair on his WrestleMania VIII match against Savage:
“We brought the best out in each other. When you have that kind of chemistry and respect for each other, it doesn’t take a lot of thought-process to go out there and make music in the ring. Randy was still playing minor league baseball when I first met him. I was there in his corner during his infancy in the business, saw him blossom and become so much better. I was proud of him, and wrestling him at WrestleMania was awesome.”
Sting on his friendship with Savage:
“Randy Savage, ironically, is one of the guys I looked up to. I loved him. He was so out far out there with his character. There was something about it I could identify with. I used to tease him a little bit in the dressing room in front of all the guys, and say, ‘Come on, just talk in your normal voice.’ ‘This is my normal voice, what are you talking about?,’ he’d say. It was funny. We’d always try to get him, but I never heard him talk any other way than just like this, brother! Living the character helped him, absolutely it did.”
Lanny Poffo on a Triple H interview that led to a the infamous Stephanie McMahon rumor, which Lanny says is not true:
“A reporter asked [WWE heavyweight champion] Triple H what he thought of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Triple H responded with, ‘They were great, but they’re dinosaurs.’ Randy saw this as a deliberate attempt to hurt his brand. Randy insinuated he [wanted] to take Triple H, slap him in the face, take his girl, Stephanie McMahon [the daughter of Vince McMahon and the wife of Triple H], and drive her around the block, then give her back to him,” Lanny says. “It wasn’t right, but Randy was provoked.”
The following are highlights of a new WWE.com Q&A with NXT Diva Carmella:
On being a fan of Miss Elizabeth: “When I was a little girl, I loved Miss Elizabeth. I would dress up in my old dance costumes and my dad would carry me around on his shoulder. I thought I was a true Diva. Sometimes the craziest dreams actually turn into reality and I truly feel blessed for this opportunity.”
On her dream match: “My dream match would be with Trish Stratus. She was the epitome of a Diva and someone I looked up to as a little girl. Although she started as a fitness model, she didn’t let that hold her back. She was willing to work hard and wasn’t afraid to take risks, which is something I think we have in common. It would be an absolute honor and dream come true to step in the ring with her.”
On her plans to win the NXT Divas Championship in 2015: “I’m headed straight for the top of the NXT Divas division. Although my road to NXT might have been different than the other Divas, I’m here to work. I put 100 percent into everything I do, and I won’t quit until I reach the top. Plus, I think we can all agree that the NXT Women’s Championship will look much more fabulous around my waist.”
On Tuesday, April 8, 2014, the professional wrestling world lost another one of the greats. The Ultimate Warrior, who for millions of fans who jumped on the pro wrestling bandwagon during the late 1980s boom period, was among the biggest and most recognizable Superstars in history. Today, we are going to look back at five matches that helped establish Warrior as the undeniable legend that he became.
It’s no secret that Ultimate Warrior wasn’t what one would call a “catch-as-catch-can” classic type of in-ring performer, but if you look back at his career from an unbiased point of view, there were certainly some diamonds in the rough. He had some great moments in the ring, and at times was absolutely more than just “a cool ring entrance.”
WWE SummerSlam 1988 (vs. The Honky Tonk Man)
On August 29, 1988 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, The Ultimate Warrior captured his first WWE Championship. In just 31 seconds, Warrior ended The Honky Tonk Man’s legendary 454-day reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion.
Going into the show, which was actually the inaugural edition of what became WWE’s annual summer tradition, Honky Tonk Man was originally supposed to square-off with Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. Beefcake ended up on the sidelines, however, and it was announced, live during the show, that Honky Tonk Man would still have an opponent and would still be defending his title.
To make a long story short, the infamous guitar riff hit the big speakers, thousands of fans in MSG exploded, and 31 seconds later, Warrior’s first WWE title reign began. History was made.
WWE SummerSlam 1989 (vs. “Ravishing” Rick Rude)
Nearly a year later to the day, Ultimate Warrior found himself capturing WWE Intercontinental gold once again at WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. Several months prior, Warrior suffered his first official defeat in WWE at the hands of “Ravishing” Rick Rude, who was arguably Warrior’s best in-ring opponent.
This was the rematch.
The bout took place on August 28, 1989 at The Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was the second annual WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
In what turned out to be a pretty good little contest, Warrior prevailed and in the end, managed to get his hand raised and once again become the WWE Intercontinental Champion.
The following are highlights from a recent Lex Luger interview with Steve and the Scum of WGD Weekly:
On the passing of Miss Elizabeth: “It was a very dark, sad time in my personal life…I’ve made a lot of bad choices outside of the ring over the years that led to me giving up my family, my beautiful wife and two children…I developed a double life and there was a lot of collateral damage from that to my friends, my family and those closest to me including Miss Elizabeth. She always will be the first lady of wrestling…it was a real tragedy, I was living a lifestyle back then, a lot of drugs, alcohol, I call it the life of folly in my book, it led to a lot of tragic things and that was the biggest tragedy you could ever think of to have a close friend like Elizabeth as a result of it. People say well Lex, you didn’t make her drink or shove pills down her throat, but I was a very big influence on her life at the time and I was doing that and she wanted to do what I did, so if you talk about regrets in the past guys, we can’t erase the past and we have got to take responsibility and I take a lot of responsibility for that tragic event and what happened.”
On Vince McMahon buying WCW and the last edition of Nitro: “I was happy for Vince because I knew, man, he had won, that was a genuine moment for him, I was like, yeah, buddy, everybody had you counted out there when we were beating you for “x” amount of weeks straight, I was happy for him.”
On WrestleMania X, not becoming WWE Champion and internet rumors: “Contrary to what is said, Vince never promised me the belt…he never made me any promises at WrestleMania between Bret, or I, or Yoko…nor did I expect him to make any, why would he, I was thrilled to be a part of the main event of WrestleMania…it’s funny I was talking to a guy in an interview recently and a guy said, ‘It was on your Wikipedia that you were drunk the night before at a bar at WrestleMania 10 and you were supposed to win the belt and Vince got mad at you,’ I wasn’t even anywhere near New York. I was with my wife and two kids in Hartford, Connecticut, staying with friends the night before WrestleMania…I did a lot of stupid stuff back then, but that wasn’t one of them…rumor becomes fact sometimes, I laughed at that for years, of all the stupid dumb stuff I did outside of the ring, that was one that I didn’t do…I always found that humorous, crazy how rumors can start…Who came up with that one?”
On Vince Russo coming in as head writer for WCW: “I think that Russo and Ferrara did their best to create a young, fresh group of guys, kind of doing an invasion like the now did and really on paper, a pretty good idea. They had a great reputation coming from the WWF for being very creative, really when we found ourselves slipping, consensus wise most of the guys were pretty excited that they were coming in and I think they gave it their very best effort, and the young guys came in and gave it their best effort, I think part of the problem was for when the young guys, when they came in and were beating these legendary guys like Hogan…in the middle of the ring…I think the fans as much as they love seeing young talent emerge, I think it was almost like a little bit too much too soon in my opinion and the fans didn’t really buy into it like they had hoped. It was a good idea but the fans didn’t quite buy into it…they did their best, but things just didn’t work out the way they hoped, it wasn’t from a lack of effort on the new guys part, the writers or the young wrestlers, it just didn’t get over the way they had hoped…but I didn’t think it was a bad idea.”
On Ric Flair and being in the Four Horsemen: “Ric lived his persona both in the ring and out of the ring, I found that out right away, I feel like for about three years there hanging out with the Horseman, I feel like I didn’t sleep for almost three years…Ric could stay up all night…then he go to the gym and work out with me, then he go and wrestle and hour broadway, I don’t know how he did it…Ric will always tell you image is everything, he always had a limo waiting for us, we flew usually private or if we flew commercial, first class, stay at really nice hotels…Ric was everything he said he was both in and out of the ring, that’s for sure.”
On Ric Flair leaving WCW and taking their world title to WWE with him: “I was scheduled to wrestle Ric in the cage and I was scheduled to win the title that night…I wasn’t told a lot, but they told me, we’re putting you in the cage with Ric and you’re winning the world title…as far as what happened after that, it was political stuff behind the scenes that I was not privy to, I heard that Ric was trying to negotiate a new contract, and I wanted the best for Ric, so when Ric ended up on television with the belt in the competing organization, I never had any hard feelings about that because I knew Ric had worked so hard and had such an incredible career, he was trying to do what was best for him and his family, from a business sense, I never took it personally…I was disappointed I didn’t get to wrestle Ric in the cage to win the world title, but I wasn’t upset with Ric that he went and did what he had to do and what he thought was best business wise for Ric Flair…WCW at the time, they were negotiating with Ric almost right up until the day of the match …to still come in and do the match, it just fell apart at the last minute…Ric almost was WCW, so for Ric to leave was a huge void and vacuum that myself and nobody could possibly even entertain the thought of replacing…they didn’t even have a belt ready yet…I think a lot of the guys were disappointed that Ric wasn’t there, but the show must go on.”
You can listen to the complete Lex Luger interview below:
– Monday’s Raw averaged 3,920,000 over the course of three hours, up from 3,835,000 for last week’s post-Survivor Series show. The first hour garnered 4,147,000 viewers, with hour two slightly dropping 4,126,000. The third hour, however, saw a sharp decline, dropping to 3,488,000 viewers.
The final rating is expected to be released later today. Last week’s show drew a 2.73.
– The official WWE website has published photos and an article looking back at ringside valets, such as Kimberly Page, Miss Elizabeth, Stacy Keibler, Sharmell, Beulah McGillicutty, Debra and Torrie Wilson, among others. WWE writes, “Some Superstars like to have a little company on their way to the ring, without the prodding of a manager. To add that extra flair, these grapplers went out and found the perfect combination of beauty and brains in ringside valets. Learn more about these lovely ladies, check out photos and watch them in action!”
– Matt Hardy appears for Dreamwave Wrestling this Saturday at LaSalle Knights of Columbus 209 Gooding St. LaSalle, Illinois.
– At Tuesday’s WWE TV tapings, John Cena wrestled Heath Slater in a match that was taped for this week’s Saturday Morning Slam tapings. For whatever reason, the match did not air on this week’s show. No word yet on why the match didn’t air.
– Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode scored a Trendrr.tv social media score of 73,010, up 7% from last week.
– WWE has ranked the “The 50 Most Beautiful People in Sports Entertainment History.” You can view the complete list at WWE.com. Here’s the Top 10:
10. Torrie Wilson
9. Cody Rhodes
8. Sunny
7. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
6. Stacy Keibler
5. The Rock
4. Eve
3. Trish Stratus
2. Randy Orton
1. Miss Elizabeth
— WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston missed this past weekend’s WWE live events due to filming an appearance for Syfy program Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files. United States Champion Santino Marella fill in as R-Truth’s partner in tag team matches.
— Paul Heyaman’s Heyman Hustle site has an exclusive photo gallery up of Brooke Adams and Lisa Marie Varon, which you can check out here.
— From Miss Elizabeth to Sensational Sherri, WWE.com pays tribute to the trailblazing ladies of the 1980s who proved that WWE wasn’t always a man’s world. (Full Story)
— WWE will hold a Supershow on July 8, 2012 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Bell time is 3:00 p.m.
— Hornswoggle accompanied Brodus Clay and his dancers at Sunday’s Raw live event at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
— Hornswoggle is promoting WWE’s anti-bullying campaign today in Greensboro, North Carolina. He tweeted, “Headed to a Greensboro Be A Star Rally. I always look forward to these as they hit close to home with me when I was younger being bullied.”
— A Kevin Nash autograph signing in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Saturday drew over 200 people.
— WWEShop.com has released numerous WrestleMania XXVIII DVD and Blu-ray packages which include programs, T-Shirts and lanyards.
— Rey Mysterio’s scheduled appearance at the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con on Sunday, June 3 has been cancelled. The WWE Superstar is currently serving a 60-day suspension for his second violation of the company’s Talent Wellness Program.
— Scotty Riggs, who held the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Marcus “Buff” Bagwell, stated the following Tuesday on Facebook after his former tag team partner was involved in a serious car accident last week while traveling near his hometown of Marietta, Georgia: “FLOCK U” … KEEP MARK (Bagwell) IN YOUR POSITIVE ENEGRY & PRAYERS … HE’S COME A MILLION MILES BUT HAS A MILLION MORE TO GO!!! … I’LL BE CALLING HIM AGAIN LATER THIS WEEK!!”
Bagwell has made major progress since the accident as he was discharged from intensive care days after requiring a breathing tube.
— Wednesday marks as the nine-year anniversary of the passing of Miss Elizabeth. The wrestling trailblazer died on May 1, 2003 in the Marietta, Georgia home she shared with Lex Luger as a result of a drug and alcohol overdose.
During a recent public appearance, Lex Luger was asked what being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame would mean to him.
“It would just be a tremendous honor if someday I was inducted in the Hall of Fame, but really, we’re here to get down to glory to God now with our lives and serve others and use open vessels for him to bring people to Christ,” says Luger, who in 2006 declared himself a born again Christian.
Lex continues, “But, would that be an honor? It’s something that would also help to use as a platform to continue ministry as well. It would be wonderful, definitely.”
Wrestlezone.com reported last week that Luger not being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year as part of the Horsemen clan stems from the events surrounding Miss Elizabeth’s death, who passed away on May 1, 2003 in the home they shared. Her cause of death, according to the coroner’s report, was “acute toxicity” brought on by a buffet of prescription painkillers and vodka. Many people in WWE blame Luger for her tragic death as he’s seen as her enabler. Luger himself has admitted to being a negative influence on her life.
“I take a lot of responsibility for that—my influence in her life,” he told ESPN.com in 2007 regarding his heavy drug abuse, which rubbed off on her during their relationship. “Her little heart and body couldn’t take what I was doing.”
