Falcons Management Discussed Team's Use of Painkillers in Released Emails

An email chain from 2010 featuring several high-ranking Atlanta Falcons officials, including team owner Arthur Blank, entered into court record last week showed the organization's concern after spending almost three times the NFL average on painkillers to treat players.Jim Litke of the Associated Press reported Tuesday the documents showed the Falcons spent $81,000 on medications for players during the 2009 season. Those involved in the email exchange were worried about the "potential embarrassment" if the numbers were released.Falcons president Rich McKay, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and director of sports medicine and performance Marty Lauzon, who previously served as head athletic trainer starting in 2010, were all part of the chain and currently remain with the franchise.Dimitroff was asked about the emails during the league's Super Bowl Opening Night festivities Monday, but he wouldn't provided any additional information, according to the AP report."That's being litigated now. That's not something we're going discuss right now," he said. "When the time is right, we'll readdress that."The timing of the news has taken away some of the attention from Atlanta's first Super Bowl appearance since the 1998 campaign. The Falcons are set to face off with the AFC champion New England Patriots on Sunday for the Lombardi Trophy.Details about the team's use of painkillers come as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit featuring more than 1,800 former players. The AP report noted there are "thousands of similar documents" as the players try to illustrate the NFL's dependency on medication without a concern for the health impact following their eventual exit from professional football.One email from Lauzon to Dimitroff noted the organization "barely missed a DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) investigation" in regards to the billing of the painkillers. A SportPharm investigation concluded the team was risking a "culture of dependency" due to its frequent use of the medications.Atlanta isn't the only team involved in the leaguewide, hot-button issue, though. Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who retired after the 2015 season, explained during an interview withE:60how easy it was to obtain whatever pills you wanted, perESPN.com."I guess my first half of my career before they really, you know, before they were like started looking over the whole industry, or the whole NFL, the doctors, the team doctors and trainers they were giving them out like candy, you know'" he said.Johnson added: "If you were hurting, then you could get 'em, you know. It was nothing. I mean, if you needed Vicodin, call out, 'My ankle hurt,' you know. 'I need, I need it. I can't, I can't play without it,' or something like that. It was simple. That's how easy it was to get 'em, you know. So if you were dependent on 'em, they were readily available."An investigation byPaul SolotaroffofMen's Journalcame to the conclusion the NFL had become so "swamped by narcotics" that the league "could not survive without these powerful drugs" due to the immense physical toll of the sport itself.
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