DEA vs NFL: Agents Raid Medical Staffs After Games

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Federal drug enforcement agents showed up unannounced Sunday to check at least two visiting NFL teams’ medical staffs as part of an investigation into former players’ claims that teams mishandled prescription drugs.

There were no arrests, but Drug Enforcement Agency checked the San Francisco 49ers’ staff at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, after they played the New York Giants. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ staff was going to be checked at Baltimore-Washington International airport after playing the Washington Redskins.

The spot checks were done by DEA investigators, who did not target specific teams, but made general checks to make sure visiting NFL teams were in compliance with federal law. Agents requested documentation from visiting teams’ medical staffs for any controlled substances in their possession, and for proof that doctors were legally permitted to practice medicine in the home team’s state.

The investigation was initiated by a lawsuit filed in May 2014 on behalf of former NFL players going back to 1968. The number of plaintiffs has grown to more than 1,200, including dozens who played as recently as 2012. Any violations of federal drug laws from 2009 and earlier could become the subject of a criminal investigation because they would not be subject to the five-year statute of limitations.

The May 2014 lawsuit alleges the NFL and its teams, owners, physicians and trainers acted without regard for players’ health, withholding information about the seriousness of their injuries while at the same time handing out prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Percocet, and anti-inflammatories such as Toradol, to mask pain and minimize lost playing time. The players contend some teams filled out prescriptions in players’ names without their knowledge or consent, then dispensed those drugs. One plaintiffs’ lawyer explained the team behavior was “like candy at Halloween.” The lawyer alleged were also combined in “cocktails.”

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