The Feds Are Very Interested In The NFL's Painkiller Problem

Yesterday, federal drug agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted surprise inspections of the medical staffs of multiple NFL teams. Bags were searched, doctors were questioned, all in the DEA's ongoing probe into claims that football has a major issue with prescription drugs.

The investigation stems from a lawsuit filed in May by 600 former players. The suit claimed that NFL doctors and trainers illegally handed out prescription painkillers like candy—Percocet, Ambien, shots of Toradol—to get players numb enough to be able to remain on the field.

Think the issue is overblown? Read former player Nate Jackson's examination of his own injury file, of the handfuls of pills and shot after shot of Toradol his doctors made sure he always had—whether he wanted it or not.