The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reportedly is investigating the abuse of prescription drugs inside NFL locker rooms. Federal agents want to find out who is providing the drugs to players, according to the New York Daily News.
The DEA opened an investigation into the NFL after a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of retired NFL players accused the league of illegally providing prescription drugs -- namely pain medications -- to players without informing them of the long-term risks.
Per the Daily News:
"The Drug Enforcement Agency has quietly launched an investigation into the abuse of prescription medication in NFL locker rooms, three sources familiar with the probe told the Daily News.
"Agents from the DEA's New York division are reaching out to former players to learn how NFL doctors and trainers get access to potent narcotics such as Percodan and Vicodin or anti-inflammatories such as Toradol, a nonaddictive prescription drug widely used around the league to treat pain."
One source told the Daily News the DEA's goal is to "find out who provided and distributed the drugs to football players."
The investigation purportedly stems from the class-action lawsuit filed on May 20 in San Francisco federal court. The complaint accuses NFL team doctors and trainers of distributing painkillers, sleeping pills and other drugs without warning players of the long-term risks and dangers.
The complaint also provides examples of players who suffered long-term injuries because the use of prescription drugs, which numbed the pain, allowed them to return prematurely to the field.
Although the DEA wouldn't confirm the investigation, Steve Silverman, an attorney for the former players, told the Daily News he was happy to hear the government is taking the players' allegations seriously.
"The allegations in our lawsuit, that the NFL has violated state and federal drug laws, have been confirmed by over 1,300 former NFL players," Silverman said Friday. "We are pleased to learn that the DEA and United States Department of Justice are also taking our clients' allegations seriously and are actively protecting the welfare of NFL players."
The NFL declined to comment on the DEA investigation.
