By Associated Press - Tuesday, May 20, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, a group of retired NFL players says the league illegally supplied them with painkillers that numbed injuries and led to medical complications. Eight players are named. A look at some of what each alleges:

____

JIM MCMAHON: He says he discovered in 2011 or 2012 that he had suffered a broken neck. He believes it happened in 1993 when his legs went numb after a hit. But the lawsuit says team doctors and trainers never told him about it.

____

RICHARD DENT: He describes a daily ritual of a team breakfast, followed by the medications needed to get him on the field for practice. Then, according to the lawsuit, he’d take “downers” to sleep.

____

JEREMY NEWBERRY: The lawsuit says he was one of as many as 15 San Francisco 49ers routinely lining up, pants down, for anti-inflammatory shot before games. During games, he would simply ask trainers for medications, with no records being kept, according to the lawsuit.

____

ROY GREEN: He developed calcium buildups on his Achilles tendons, but doctors and trainers gave him anti-inflammatories rather than surgery, according to the lawsuit. He ultimately demanded surgery, though the lawsuit alleges that the Arizona Cardinals’ general manager pushed back.

___

J.D. HILL: He was given “uppers, downers, painkillers, you name it,” he said in a statement. He said he became homeless and addicted. “Never took a drug in my life, and I became a junkie in the NFL.”

___

KEITH VAN HORNE: The lawsuit says he received injections of numbing agents and pills - and often wasn’t told what they were.

___

RON STONE: He tore his thumb while playing with the New York Giants. NFL doctors administered painkillers instead of recommending surgery, the lawsuit says.

___

RON PRITCHARD: He says amphetamines were available in jars in the Houston Oilers’ locker room.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide