This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The NFL has rejected accusations that its teams routinely ignored federal laws regulating the use and distribution of addictive prescription painkillers.

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A special report in the Washington Post, based on court documents contained in a lawsuit by 1,800 former players, showed that the NFL teams disregarded DEA guidance about how to track, store and distribute controlled substances and plied their players with powerful anti-inflammatories every season.

The plaintiffs say team doctors handed out thousands of prescription painkillers each year in order to keep them on the field – at a rate far beyond what was previously acknowledged. They claim the NFL’s failure to properly track prescription drugs led them to suffer various health ailments, including liver and joint damage.

But the NFL categorically denies any wrongdoing.

Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesman, attacked what he called “meritless” claims. He said: “The allegations made by plaintiffs are meritless and the league and its clubs will continue vigorously to defend these claims.

“The NFL clubs and their medical staffs are all in compliance with the Controlled Substances Act. The NFL clubs and their medical staffs continue to put the health and safety of our players first, providing all NFL players with the highest-quality medical care. Any claim or suggestion to the contrary is simply wrong.”

Yet several of exhibits gathered by the plaintiffs’ lawyers seem to contradict the league’s statement.

Paul Sparling, the Bengals’ head trainer, wrote in a 2009 email: “Can you have your office fax a copy of your DEA certificate to me? I need it for my records when the NFL ‘pill counters’ come to see if we are doing things right. Don’t worry, I’m pretty good at keeping them off the trail!”

The documents appear to show a cavalier attitude toward the storage, transport and distribution of controlled substances, as well as prescription medicines, which the lawsuit contends were often obtained illegally.

The filings detail how medications like Ambien, a sedative, and Toradol, a post-surgical painkiller, were distributed to players and not accurately tracked by the team’s dispensing records.

The group of 1,800 former professional football players are suing the league in US district court in northern California. They say they sustained long-term health damage because of improper and deceptive drug distribution practices by NFL teams.

The issue of prescription drugs and their widespread use has roiled the NFL for some years. A survey of more than 600 former NFL players by Washington University in St Louis in 2011 found that 52% used opioids during their careers, while 71% admitted to misuse.