Saw this article in the Sunday Daily News about Chris Benoit's death.  I couldn't find it on the web, not that it deserves a link anyway.  It's about The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), and how he states that steroids have messed up wrestling:

Nothing extremely outrageous there... pretty standard stuff from The Rock.  The author of the article then tries to inexplicable tied this into Chris Benoit's murderous rampage.  Or, to be fair, the U.S. Congress does:

Are you serious?  Our government is that eager for any excuse to make steroids front page news, huh?  It is election time, so it's a freebie... look hard on sports stars and steroid abuse for the camera.  Only one problem... there is no reason to believe steroid abuse had anything to do with Benoit's homicide/suicide.  Congress can try to invoke the image of "steroid rage" as much as they want, but science says "no".

A doctor who study Benoit's brain during the autopsy has suggested that "repeated concussions could have contributed to the killings".

We know for a fact that Benoit had suffered multiple concussions.  His father (Michael Benoit) has told reporters as much.  That shouldn't surprise anyone - concussions, like steroids, are a part of wrestling.  Of course, the difference is that the Sports Legacy Institute (which, full disclosure, it should be noted that the doctor who studied Benoit's brain - Robert Cantu - is affiliated with the SLI) has been researching and releasing studies on the effects of concussions on athletes.  The work of the Institute was profiled in an episode of Real Sports with Bryan Gumbel earlier this year.

In the episode we were introduced to former wrestler named Christopher Nowinski, who graduated from Harvard.  He got interested in research involving the long-term effects of concussions after suffering a few of his own.  He started doing research into the relationship between concussions and mental illness, and started the SLI.  Their research has found several ex-football players who are suffering from rapidly aging brains and early onset of dementia and depression.  And now they found the same correlation in Chris Benoit.

The scientific evidence linking concussions to depression and dementia, according to the institute, is abnormal protein deposits in the brain.  These deposits cause trauma to the brain, which can cause depression and irrational behavior.  Steroid abuse does not cause abnormal protein deposits.

The diary of Benoit seems to validate that he suffered from dementia and depression.  

The Sports Legacy Institute has been publishing and publicizing reports on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) attributed to multiple concussions, as related to former NFL, wrestling, and professional boxers.  Andre Waters, a former NFL safety I remember watching around 10-15 years ago, killed himself earlier this year.  His brain was examined by Bennett Omalu (another MD who works closely with the institute), and he described the brain as similar to "that of an octogenarian Alzheimer's patient".  Waters' brain had "neurofibrallary tangles, neutrophil threads, and cell dropout".  

A study ("the study of retired athletes") by UNC-Chapel Hill doctors found that athletes who had sustained three or more concussions during their lives were "three times more likely to experience significant memory problems".  It found a similar connection to clinical depression.

CTE is also known as dementia pugilistica (punch drunk syndrome), and has been in medical journals since the 1920's.  It manifests itself about 12-16 years after the start of the player's career, and can result in dementia, depression, or parkinsonism (lack of motor coordination). 

The thing is that even if you suffer a concussion, it doesn't damage your brain right away.  Researchers have found that if treated early, brain damage can be prevented.  See, the damage doesn't occur immediately upon the blow to the head.  It results from "the subsequent swelling in the brain" following a blow to the head:

So when you see your local politicians on TV, your Congressmen putting on a good show of acting tough on steroids, remember it's all misplaced.   Whereas steroids have yet to be proven to have any serious medical side effects to your health, there is a more serious sports problem that they are ignoring.  One that has been around for almost 80 years, and that has the support of scientific studies.  Pro athletes are having serious mental illnesses long after they have retired.  We've seen what has happened to Muhammad Ali... it's only a matter of time before we see what becomes of players like Steve Young, Wayne Chrebet, Troy Aikman, etc.  Then maybe we'll see this issue get the attention it deserves.  In the meanwhile, Congress will continue to ignore it to deal with the "evil" of steroids in sports...

"When Chris Nowinski contacted me about conducting tests on Chris' brain, I was extremely hesitant given the circumstances surrounding my son's death," said Michael Benoit.  "I agreed to the testing after he explained their desire to expand knowledge about the potential brain damage that athletes can suffer from repetitive head injuries in contact sports.  When the results were explained to me by the SLI doctors, I was shocked to learn the extent of damage and saddened that he could have been suffering from this without anyone's knowledge.  I hope the examination of Chris' brain leads to greater understanding and ultimately helps protect athletes of all ages."

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