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Most of you have probably read or hear about the scathing expose on Grantland.com covering Ric Flair and his decades of legal woes. Believe it or not, it gets better. Flair is now threatening to sue over something written in the story, ironically also written by Flair himself in his autobiography.

I say it all of the time when it comes to Flair and it is true, he is the gift that keeps on giving to bloggers. As a pro wrestler, I love the guy. He is one of my top favorites of all time. But even as a big fan, it is impossible to ignore the reputation he has earned outside of the ring. You know, the one for being a lying, womanizing, con-artist, abusive, sexually harassing, broke, questionable (I am being kind) father and husband who has become more of a disgrace than legend in recent years. Yep, that one.

Originally I wasn’t even going to blog on the Grantland.com story because quite frankly, it stood on its own. But this latest turn of events deserved some real estate on the Camel Clutch Blog. Today, Ric Flair finally responded to the story and he is upset. Flair is disputing one, yes only one claim by Shane Ryan. Flair is upset over Ryan’s claims that Flair has a condition called alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a disease caused by years of alcohol abuse which often leads to heart failure.

Flair’s attorney (I hope he was paid upfront after reading Ryan’s piece) released a statement today threatening a lawsuit over this claim. Flair’s representatives told TMZ.com, “While the information gleaned from courthouse records may be credible, Mr. Fliehr is currently evaluating his legal options with respect to falsehoods in the story, specifically the untrue statement that he suffers from alcoholic cardiomyopathy.”

That is all well and good but there is only one problem as one of my favorite blogs Cagesideseats.com points out. Flair actually admitted to having the disease in his own autobiography.

“Through my many years of partying, I also developed something called “alcoholic cardiomyopathy,” a weakening of heart muscles,” Flair stated on page 304. “I first detected that there was something wrong when my heart began skipping beats. I went to a cardiologist friend who told me that when your heart pumps, it expands to a rubber band. But mine was doing it too much. Initially, I thought that steroids might be responsible, but the doctor dismissed this theory. My heart was fluttering from thirty-five years of hitting it hard.

It’s the part of the price of being Ric Flair. In exchange for the glory and the good times, I acquired a heart condition, self-esteem issues, and cataracts from tanning beds-and very nearly wrecked my marriage to a great woman. But incredibly, I remained ageless in other ways. And in 2002, at nearly fifty-three years old, I was about to see if I could show a new generation of fans what they missed in the 1970s and 1980s.”

The whole passage can be read online.

I don’t know what is worse for Flair. Coming out only denying ONE allegation in a story that claims Flair did everything from rip off unsuspecting investors, gigged himself when his wife called 911 on a domestic disturbance, almost got kicked out of his house recently for being behind on rent, being millions of dollars in debt over the last few decades to the government, exposed himself to a stewardess, owed money to his lawyers, set up an illegal money business in North Carolina, and bilked home contractors out of thousands of dollars to name a few or actually threaten to sue for a claim that he admitted to in his own book?

It is obvious what is going on here. Flair is desperately worried that he won’t be allowed to wrestle again with his condition, and rightfully so. It will be really hard for any major pro wrestling company to justify booking Flair in a match (and yes he is booked in the next TNA Wrestling pay per view main event) knowing about his disease, which he likely never failed to mention when he signed with the company. The company could put themselves at great risk for allowing Flair to wrestle knowing what they do now.’

And for a guy who is in more debt than you can imagine, Flair is likely hoping to wrestle until he takes his last breath.

Woooo!

WWE: Nature Boy Ric Flair – The Definitive Collection on DVD

WWE – The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection DVD collection

WWE Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80s

Ric Flair: To Be the Man (WWE) Book

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