Ephedra ban opens debate on role, need for stimulants in NFL

ASHBURN, Va. -- On Sunday mornings in locker rooms across the NFL, players prepare themselves for three hours of physical violence that most people can't fathom. A 250-pound linebacker must come to terms with painful, full-speed collisions with 300-pound linemen, or else he can't play the game.

Some spend the time in prayer. Some call home. Some listen to music.

And some take drugs.

Quite a few, it turns out, were taking ephedra, an herbal stimulant that eventually was banned by the league.

"Guys were killing that stuff," Washington Redskins linebacker Eddie Mason said. "Ephedra was like a major, major product for the last several years. You take this drug -- first of all, your hormones before a game, your endorphins, your testosterone levels are already up, so your heart's already racing. So you got all this stuff going on inside your body, and you put another stimulant inside, it's going to cause your heart to race. Guys can die from that stuff.

"I just think it was the best move the league could have made by banning the substance."

Not everyone agrees.

"Ephedra's not a bad deal. We turned it into a bad deal because we take too much of it," San Diego Chargers strength coach Dave Redding said. "A responsible amount of ephedra is OK, I really believe that."

And so goes the latest debate on the role of stimulants and other supplements in the NFL. Conflicting messages and rule changes leave many players confused over what they should or shouldn't take, yet many feel that they need to be taking something -- just to keep up with everyone else.

"The majority of the league uses supplements in one form or another," New York Jets center Kevin Mawae said.

And sometimes they come from the team. Redding, who followed coach Marty Schottenheimer to San Diego from Washington, made supplements readily available last year in his only season with the Redskins. Defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson grew so skeptical of Redding's products that he took some home to Ohio for his own doctor to examine.

"A lot of that stuff had some mixes and stuff that guys shouldn't be taking, and No. 1 was ephedra," Wilkinson said. "I was telling Doc, 'he's got guys taking pills with this mess and all these protein shakes and other mess. Your liver and kidneys can only take so much.'

"It was unrealistic. We're not training to be ultimate fighters or some type of sumo wrestler. We're training just for football."

Redding defended his methods. Although he said he stopped offering ephedra products to players when the NFL announced its ban, he's not convinced the league did the right thing.

"They've haven't solved the problem," Redding said. "They've just created another problem -- because these guys will find something else."

"These guys are under a lot of pressure," Redding said. "It's a pressure cooker every day, and sometimes they feel like they need to do a little extra."

The NFL has been pro-active when it comes to drugs. Steroids, the subject of controversy now in baseball, were banned 13 years ago. Random testing is routine.

So when word grew about the potential dangers of ephedra, the NFL became the first U.S. pro sports league to ban it. It cited the "growing evidence linking these products to several life-threatening conditions such as strokes, seizures, thermo-regulatory disorders and heart arrhythmias."

The Ephedra Education Council, a group funded by supplement makers, insists that ephedra dietary supplements are safe and effective for weight loss when used as directed. "The industry fully supports fair competition and the NFL if it wishes to ban even mild stimulants, such as caffeine and ephedra, out of concern for competition," said Wes Siegner, the counsel for the industry group.

The NFL is ahead of the pack. Earlier this month, the Bush administration delayed a government ban of ephedra and instead ordered a new safety review, stunning doctors who claim the stimulant is responsible for as many as 100 deaths since the mid-1990s. Ephedra remains available in about 200 supplements used for weight loss, building muscle and boosting energy.

"I'm sure at some point in time, everybody's used it," Miami Dolphins linebacker Derrick Rodgers said. "It was just in cold medicines and stuff like that. There's still some items that you can buy at GNC that have some banned substances in it."

Although the NFL's ban came into effect last September, random testing for ephedra doesn't begin until July 1. A positive test could result in a four-game suspension, and that has players' attention.

"As far as walking about the locker room, I don't see any of those bottles that I used to see," Mason said. "Guys are going to be smart. Once you see that sign saying 'this substance banned' -- you weigh the costs. You test positive, you won't be here."

Some see another cost. They've heard that a bottle of Ripped Fuel, which contains ephedra, was found in the locker of Minnesota Vikings tackle Korey Stringer after he collapsed and died during a training camp practice last year. The Vikings and Stringer's agent have said there's no evidence ephedra caused his death, but many players are anxious.

"A lot of guys are afraid to take anything nowadays after what happened in Minnesota," Redskins linebacker Kevin Mitchell said.

Estimates vary widely on how many players have used ephedra. Giants trainer Ronnie Barnes estimated that around 40 players on New York's 53-man roster used it before the ban and 20 kept using it after the ban went into effect.

Redding estimated that perhaps one-third of all players used ephedra at some point. Mitchell said "no more than 10" players used it with the Redskins.

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle John Thornton said he took an ephedra product only a couple of times before quitting.

"I heard it was bad, and I didn't use it anymore," Thornton said. "You think that's legal, and you think it's fine. You find out it has adverse effects and you can actually die. Once they told us that, nobody does it."

Most players and coaches wouldn't hazard a guess. Even Minnesota coach Mike Tice, whose team is still dealing with the repercussions of Stringer's death, indicated the matter wasn't his concern.

"I try not to get involved with what players put in their bodies," Tice said. "I've never really brought it up with them."

Still others wondered whether the NFL's efforts to keep a clean image are getting too intrusive.

"It's not the same as steroids," Jets cornerback Ray Mickens said. "In five years, all we're going to be able to eat is bread and water. They're going to ban everything."

With the ban, players who would never dream of taking ephedra are now having to watch for it on ingredient lists at the pharmacy.

"Guys always ask us, 'Can you take something? Can you not take something?"' Titans trainer Brad Brown said. "We'll look at it and see. But we can't give you a guarantee what we're seeing on the box is what's inside."

Meanwhile, others are already searching for the next ephedra. Brown thinks it could be already be finding its way into supplements.

"Everybody's looking for that special pill that's going to make them lose weight," Brown said, "or that special pill that's going to give them an advantage on the field."

Ephedra was a favorite because it does both. Redding said he prefers that players diet sensibly rather than use supplements, but ephedra became on option when they didn't.

"Sometimes in a January, February, March, they don't take care of business," Redding said. "They come back and want a quick weight loss program. They come to you begging, 'What can you do to help me?' Being a helper and strength coach and nutritionist person, you try to guide them and lead them."

Then there are those moments before the games on Sunday, when the mere excitement of playing a game before 60,000 people just isn't enough to get some players pumped.

Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, formerly with the Baltimore Ravens, said defensive tackle Tony Siragusa once came to him in the locker room before a road game and asked if a newly signed player was going to play. When Lewis asked why, he said Siragusa told him: "I've got to know how many 'Goose' pills to give him, because I don't want him bouncing off the plane on the way home."

"All it was was some kind of stimulant," Lewis said.

For many, the stimulant of choice is caffeine, which is legal and everywhere. There are caffeine pills and caffeine drinks. Redding said the same case made against ephedra could be made against caffeine: Too much is bad, but the right dose could do some good.

"A little bit of caffeine, a responsible amount of caffeine, can enhance performance," Redding said. "No one says anything about them drinking coffee all day long. It's OK for everybody to have a Coca-Cola machine their locker room and have as much as they want, but if I hand them a responsible caffeine drink with a lot of nutrients in it, I'm crazy."

By most accounts, Redding's drinks and other supplements were not popular among the Redskins, who were a disappointing 8-8 last season.

"People don't understand how much influence a strength coach can have on the team," cornerback Champ Bailey said. "If you've got somebody in there that nobody gets along with, then it's going to affect everybody because the guys that like to lift won't go in there."

That doesn't mean the Redskins are now supplement-free. Mason and his wife are independent distributors for a company that sells a fruit drink called Tahitian Noni Juice, and he said about 20 teammates drink it.

"A lot of guys are taking the juice, and it's benefiting them," Mason said. "It's not going to cause you to test positive, and it's natural."

But in the current climate, everyone is cautious. Receiver Kevin Lockett said Mason's drink has helped his endurance, but he researched it for more than a month before trying it.

"As far as we know, it's all natural," Lockett said. "At the same time, if I find out there is something in it, I'll drop it."

Bubba Tyer is unconvinced. The dean of NFL trainers before accepting a management position with the Redskins this year, Tyer sees no room in the NFL for ephedra, caffeine concoctions -- or even Mason's fruit drink.

"There's no need for that. It's a joke," Tyer said. "I've always been that way. That's why, as a club, I've never encouraged us to buy any supplements. These young men here don't need it.

"I saw us win three Super Bowls eating McDonald's hamburgers for lunch. I had a coach tell me red meat's not good for you. Well, if you want to think that, football's not good for you. There's more damage playing football than there is to eating red meat when you're 26 years old."

Tyer knows his arguments don't win over all the players. Stimulants and other supplements aren't going away anytime soon. He even said some will keep using ephedra, despite the risk of getting caught by a random test.

"They won't have it here in their locker -- they'll have it at home," Tyer said. "What are you going to do?"