So, on the heels of Jack Swagger being pulled over after a Smackdown taping in Mississippi, and being charged with DUI, speeding and possession of marijuana, a lot of people are talking about the punishment for Jack Swagger (Jacob Hager, Jr.).
Now, Per the WWE Abuse Policy, (Here) it says in section 15b that a positive test for marijuana carries a $2500 fine, which is pretty minimal as a punishment. However, what really brings up a questions is section 14.
14. DISCIPLINE FOR VIOLATION OF LAW
Any WWE Talent, who is arrested, convicted or who admits to a violation of law relating to use, possession, purchase, sale or distribution of drugs will be in material breach of his/her contract with WWE and subject to immediate dismissal.
In addition to the penalties that may be imposed pursuant to his/her contract with WWE, a violation of this Section 14 may also be treated as a positive test for drugs prohibited by this Policy and therefore, subject to the penalties set forth in Section 15 of this Policy.
So, if WWE decides to uphold this part of the policy, Swagger could be done. But fining them $2500 dollars when they mess up, is pretty minimal, considering most of them make a lot of money. The punishment should be closer to $10,000, that way, if they think about doing anything stupid, it will be on their mind they have to pay a hefty fine if that get into trouble.
Jack Swagger isn’t the first guy to be in trouble for this. Here is a lost of guys who have been tagged for substance abuse.
- Chavo Guerrero – 2 strikes (Now working for TNA)
- Drew Hankinson, a/k/a Festus – 1 strike (now works for TNA)
- Randy Orton – 2 strikes
- Darren Matthews, a/k/a William Regal – 2 strikes
- Charlie Haas – 1 strike (Works for ROH now)
- Nick Nemeth, a/k/a Dolph Ziggler – 1 strike
- Adam Copeland, a/k/a Edge – 1 strike (Retired)
- Jeff Hardy – 2 strikes (Works for TNA now. had a major drug bust right after leaving WWE)
- James Yun, a/k/a Jimmy Wang Yang – 1 strike (Works for TNA now)
- John Hennigan, a/k/a John Morrison – 1 strike (Works the independents)
- Shoichi Funaki, a/k/a Kung Fu Naki – 1 strike (No longer works for WWE)
- Harry Smith, a/k/a David Hart Smith – 1 strike (No longer with WWE)
- Gregory Helms – 1 strike (No longer with WWE)
- Ryan Reeves, a/k/a Ryback – 1 strike
- Oscar Gutierrez Rubio a/k/a Rey Mysterio – 2 strikes
WWE never releases the reason for suspension, but normally, a strike and suspension is given for steroids or some other performance enhancing drug. Marijuana and Alcohol both carry a $2500 fine, but no suspension or other punishment.
Dan Walker 