Former NFL Player Links Drugs to the Pressure to Win at Any Cost

Steve Courson, a former player who is writing a book about the use of steroids and other drugs in football, says that the win-at-any-cost attitude of coaches and society leads players to use drugs.

“It’s no longer a game, no longer fun,” said Courson, a former University of South Carolina lineman who played on two Super Bowl championship teams with the Pittsburgh Steelers during his nine years in the National Football League. “They’ve made the average athlete a killing machine. The drug use is a sad tribute to the intensity of the game.

“Society puts pressure on you to win. It’s how competitive and rough the game has become. The fact is that you cannot test effectively for steroids; it’s been in the sport since the 1950s.

“Athletes are going to do what they have to do to compete, and doctors are going to prescribe drugs to put you on the field.”

Courson, 31, said that the NFL and the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. need to look at why players use drugs.

“The NCAA and the NFL ought to take a closer look at the game, instead of just pointing the finger,” he said. “They should look at why guys are doing (steroids). Instead of testing players for steroids, NCAA officials ought to put on pads and see what the modern game has turned into.

“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, my God, they’re taking steroids!’ Those people ought to have the experience of lining up on third or fourth and one in college and the pros. It’s a war out there. That’s why players take drugs.”

Courson, who lives in Jackson, Wyo., is writing his book about the widespread use of steroids and other drugs by pro and college players. The book is tentatively titled, “War in the Trenches, the Chemical Battlefield.”

Courson said he first used steroids as an 18-year-old, 260-pound freshman lineman at South Carolina in 1973. Although he now condemns drugs in football, Courson said it is only an indication of what society has done to the game.

“It’s hypocritical,” he said. “A lot of people in the NCAA think these guys are cheating. What these guys are doing is trying to compete at a higher level.”

Courson, a native of Gettysburg, Pa., played seven seasons for the Steelers and two for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring a year ago.

He said he saw players at every stop in his career using steroids, along with weight training, to help build body bulk. He also saw the advance of weight training and America’s love of football work together to make chemicals a major part of the game.

“It’s apparent now what it really takes to play,” he said. “Steroids are no good, but most people pay little attention to the doctor-prescribed legal drugs. When you’re hurt, they shoot your joints full of drugs and send you out there. That’s more dangerous.”