Drug Enforcement Administration agents conducted surprise inspections of NFL locker rooms after games on Sunday as part of an investigation regarding potential painkiller abuse by teams.
The DEA suspects that teams are illegally administering painkilling injections during games so players can play. They searched bags and interviewed team doctors, according to The Washington Post.
The Buccaneers, who played at the Washington Redskins, and the San Francisco 49ers, who played at the New York Giants, were two of six teams expected to be investigated.
Teams may be breaking the law by having trainers administer injections, when only physicians should be doing so.
The Post lists some of the other laws teams may be breaking:
Federal law prohibits anyone but a physician or nurse practioner from distributing prescription drugs, and they must meet myriad regulations for acquiring, storing, labeling and transporting them. It is also illegal for a physican to distribute prescription drugs outside of his geographic area of practice. And it is illegal for trainers to dispense, or even handle, controlled substances in any way.
The investigation was triggered by the lawsuit from 1,300 former NFL players who allege they were given multiple substances such as Percocet, Percodan and Toradol. Some players claimed they were given substances or painkilling injections without prescriptions, which are needed.
The DEA believes it has a responsibility to investigate based on the designations of the Controlled Substances Act, which ensures that “registrants who possess, prescribe and dispense control substances are following the law.”
