iety and to its players.The NFL’s policy also needs to be revised for another reason. Certain substances that can be purchased over the counter can cause a player to be suspended. This happened to Jim Miller, a quarterback for the Chicago Bears. He used an over the counter dietary supplement that contained a banned substance called nandrolene (www.foxsports.com). Under the NFL’s drug policy, he has to be suspended for four weeks, suspended for taking a legal supplement. If he had taken cocaine, he would have faced no suspension. A player faces only a fine for their first time getting caught with non-performance enhancing drugs in their system. If a player gets caught for any performance enhancing substance, they must automatically receive a four game suspension. Miller said he was taking the substance because he coaches wanted him to lose 25 pounds. He said he didn’t know he had to look at the bottle and go through every ingredient to make sure the NFL allowed all the ingredients. If the players have to be this careful about taking a dietary substance, the policy should be revised and changed. The policy should focus on drugs causing bigger problems in the NFL. Problem drugs like painkillers, not dietary substances.One of the major drugs being used today by the players cannot even be picked up in a drug test. This drug is called vicodin. It is a powerful painkiller which is both physically and mentally additive. When this drug is abused, it can cause severe seizures and lead to death (King 25). This drug wasn’t even noticed as a threat until three-time league MVP Bret Favre went public and announced his addition to the drug. Favre had taken up to 13 pills in one night. This is dangerous because over 50% of the league’s players use this drug. Many of the players abuse it like Favre, and most of them don’t know it is a serious problem. If not monitored correctly, any player could b...
