Steve Courson’s warning from the grave

By Kyle Chrise  |   Monday, July 07, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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Terry Bradshaw learned firsthand last month how easy it is to catch the attention of the hungry media. For the Hall of Fame quarterback and Pittsburgh legend, all it took was mentioning sports’ dreaded “S” word, steroids. Bradshaw said he used them in his Super Steeler days, sparking headlines across the country; however, it turned out to be a red herring. The blond bomber said he really wasn’t talking about illegal anabolic steroids; rather, he was referring to corticosteroid injections, something still legal in the NFL today. But this past weekend, when another player from those championship teams took the league to task over steroids, the press was largely silent, even though the claims came from someone who has been dead for nearly three years.

The statements came from Steve Courson, a former offensive lineman who played six years with Pittsburgh, winning two Super Bowls. He died in a 2005 tree-cutting accident while trying to save his dog from the falling tree. But in the months before his death, Courson wrote a 5,000-word letter on steroids in the NFL that was intended for a former Steelers teammate. The letter never made it past his computer’s hard drive, until it was recently handed over to the Baltimore Sun.

In the letter, Courson was upset that more players hadn’t come clean about their steroid use. He blasted the NFL, saying the league uses “deception and exploitation” to do business and is a prisoner to the “myth” that all players are drug-free role models. According to The Sun, Courson suggested many current and former players are living a lie by not admitting the role of performance-enhancing drugs in the sport. He said the bottom line is that “whether or not we want to be remembered historically for being stooges to the myth or for being freed by the truth.” The paper refused to reveal the letter’s intended recipient.

The essay is the final chapter in Courson’s lengthy campaign to enlighten people about the effects of performance-enhancing drugs. It all started in 1985, when Courson became the first NFL player to speak on record about steroids in the league. That Sports Illustrated interview is a fascinating and unapologetic read that exposes the four different drugs Courson would use during certain steroid cycles, and his rationale for abusing them.

The NFL blackballed him for speaking out, but Courson would dig even deeper. His 1991 book, “False Glory,” took the league to task, claiming it ignored the problems of steroids. He singled out former Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll, saying the Steeler icon “conveniently and most definitely turned his head to it.” The Steelers organization has consistently refuted those claims.

Courson would eventually take his crusade to the halls of Congress. In 2005, he told House lawmakers how performance-enhancing drugs migrated from the Soviet Union to American gyms. Courson claimed steroids entered the NFL when the Chargers hired the league’s first strength coach in 1963. That coach, Alvin Roy, previously worked with the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team. Courson said steroid use followed Roy when he later joined the Chiefs, Cowboys and Raiders. Eventually it reached the Steelers dynasty and every other NFL team.

Today, the NFL has one of the strongest steroid-testing policies in pro sports, in part because of Courson’s efforts. The league began disciplining players for steroid use in 1989. A season later, year-round random testing began. Now, each week during the season, 10 players from every team are tested. That’s 12,000 tests each season. Players get a four-game suspension for their first failed test. A second violation results in a year’s suspension.

Here’s the question that all this boils down to: Are performance-enhancing drugs still prevalent in the NFL? Only about 60 players have been suspended since the league began testing. The NFL Players Association insists drugs like human growth hormone are more of a problem in pro baseball. New York Yankees vice president Hank Steinbrenner has a different opinion; he believes the number of football players using performance-enhancers is at least double that of baseball. The truth is probably somewhere in between, but Courson has a final warning for the NFL.

In his letter, he says the magnitude of doping will be eventually exposed, and a major scandal could unravel the entire league. But if football is never tested with that kind of hardship, we may have heroes like Steve Courson to partially thank.
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About Kyle Chrise

Like a modern-day Moses, Kyle was found drifting down the Monongahela River, wrapped in a Terrible Towel, next to what was then Three Rivers Stadium. Found and raised by the stadium's grounds crew, Chrise lived and breathed Steelers football. As a youngster, he earned the trust of new head coach ...
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