Rutigliano Says That Rogers First Took Drugs in NFL

Don Rogers, the Cleveland Brown defensive back who died of a cocaine overdose one day before he was to be married, was introduced to the drug after he joined the NFL team, former Browns’ Coach Sam Rutigliano said in today’s editions of The Sacramento Bee.

“Don Rogers wanted to be accepted by them (his teammates),” Rutigliano told The Bee in an interview at his suburban Cleveland home. “That’s how it started, I’m absolutely certain.”

Rogers died June 27 in Sacramento, one day after attending a bachelor party to celebrate his upcoming wedding.

Rutigliano, who was fired as the Browns’ coach midway through the 1984 season, also said the Browns were “sticking their heads in the sand” about Rogers’ death.

Rutigliano told The Bee: “I am convinced that Don Rogers wasn’t a drug user when he came to us from UCLA. He passed all of our drug screens. We investigated his friends and his family. He was not a drug user at that point.

“I could tell Rogers was not using drugs during his first season. I would see him play and I could tell. There’s a difference in intensity, in the way they move to a situation. A crusty old veteran might get away with it for a while, but not a young guy like Rogers. I’ve seen enough of these guys to know.

“So he must have been introduced to the drug sometime after that, after being here. He made a tragic mistake.”

Asked about Rutigliano’s comments, Browns president Art Modell told The Bee: “He has no right to sit in moral judgment of our team. For him to say those things is just not right. He has no evidence.”