Over the weekend, an investigation by the DEA of several NFL teams was triggered by a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in May by more than 1,300 retired NFL players. In the suit, they allege that NFL medical staffs regularly violate federal and state laws in plying their teams with powerful addictive narcotics such as Percocet and Percodan, sleeping pills such as Ambien and the non-addictive painkiller Toradol to help them play through injuries on game days. Federal law prohibits anyone but a physician or nurse practitioner from distributing prescription drugs, and they must meet myriad regulations for acquiring, storing, labeling and transporting them. It is also illegal for a physician to distribute prescription drugs outside of his geographic area of practice. And it is illegal for trainers to dispense or even handle controlled substances in any way.
According to the report in the Washington Post, drug agents conducted surprise inspections of National Football League team medical staffs on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation into prescription drug abuse in the league. The inspections, which entailed bag searches and questioning of team doctors by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, were based on the suspicion that NFL teams dispense drugs illegally to keep players on the field in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The medical staffs were part of travel parties whose teams were playing at stadiums across the country.
The San Francisco 49ers confirmed they were inspected by federal agents following their game against the New York Giants in New Jersey but did not provide any details. “The San Francisco 49ers organization was asked to participate in a random inspection with representatives from the DEA Sunday night at MetLife Stadium,” team spokesman Bob Lange said in an e-mailed statement. “The 49ers medical staff complied and the team departed the stadium as scheduled.” An NFL official said multiple teams met with federal authorities on Sunday. “Our teams cooperated with the DEA today and we have no information to indicate that irregularities were found,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement.
The class action lawsuit led by former stars Jim McMahon and Richard Dent, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco alleges the league illegally supplied them with painkillers to conceal injuries and mask pain. The players say addictive drugs were administered without proper prescriptions, in illegal doses, without medical supervision and with little or no explanation of risks and dangers. “Rather than allowing players the opportunity to rest and heal, the NFL has illegally and unethically substituted pain medications for proper health care to keep the NFL’s tsunami of dollars flowing,” the complaint reads. The lawsuit alleges that dependency on pain medication outlasts football careers. One plaintiff, J.D. Hill, an NFL wide receiver from 1971 to ’79, says after he retired from football, he “was forced to purchase [drugs] on the streets to deal with his football-related pain” and eventually became homeless.
The NFL reached an agreement last year to settle concussion-related litigation with former players. Many of these former players also filed concussion related workers’ compensation claims in California. The league now faces this new courtroom challenge. Worker’s compensation defense attorneys also expect claims based upon the new pain medication allegations. The surprise DEA investigations may shed some light on the current practices.