If your team has escaped the halfway point of the NFL season unscathed, consider yourself lucky. It has been a horrific season for the NFL injury-wise, as a handful of integral players were forced to end their seasons early for various serious injuries.
The exhaustive list consists of, but is not limited to:
- Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (knee)
- Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith (achilles)
- Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (achilles)
- Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell (knee)
- San Diego Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen (kidney)
- New Orleans Saints running back Khiry Robinson (tibia)
- Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake (achilles)
I’m sure there are more, but you get the picture.
So what is the cause of this injury epidemic? According to former first-round draft pick Brady Quinn: STEROIDS.
Quinn, who is recently out of the league but bounced around to six different teams in his seven year NFL stint, said on said on CBS Sports’ “Roughing the Passer” podcast that the use of human growth hormone could be to blame.
“You could say it’s what they’re taking, supplements and things that they’re putting in their body that are dehydrating their body and making them a little more tight and brittle, those sorts of things.”
“I’m not going to be a whistleblower and I’m not accusing anyone of anything. There’s got to be something these guys are taking. That’s what I think, at least.”
Quinn went on to say that starters are only tested for banned substance during their required annual test and one random test, so it is relatively easy to get away with. That’s why, in Quinn’s estimate, “40 to 50 percent” of players are taking banned substances–namely HGH because it is nearly “undetectable.” According to Deadspin, here were as many as 1,335 tests conducted by the NFL last season, the first year of testing, and zero positives.
Quinn went on to say that the risks of getting caught do not outweigh the potential benefits a banned substance can provide.
“I’m not accusing anyone. But I think the usage of of HGH or performance enhancing drugs or supplements is greater now than it’s ever been because the money is bigger now than it’s ever been and the punishment isn’t really that bad if you think about it.
“If you’re a top-of-the-line guy and you’re getting $16 million a year—you’re getting a million bucks a game—if you get popped for taking something that helps you get that big-time contract or hit that incentive in your contract where you get paid all of the sudden in your contract year, guess what? First [failed test], four-game [suspension]. Let’s talk about financially, ‘Am I going to sacrifice $4 million in order for me to get that big contract on the back-end? Yeah, I am.”
I’ve always advocated to permit the use of steroid use in baseball. The McGuire-Sosa era was the Golden Age of America’s sport and the epidemic of injuries in baseball is less likely than the NFL because, well Bartolo Colon plays and he hasn’t worked out since the 80’s.
But football is a different beast and if its stars are being sidelined in part due to banned substances, than the league should do just one thing right for once and tighten up the ship.
[h/t Deadspin]
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