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Excerpt: 'Spiral of Denial' reveals culture of steroid abuse
The following is an excerpt from Matt Chaney's "Spiral of Denial: Muscle Doping in American Football," a comprehensive analysis of steroid use in football and its impact on society
For ex-Steelers on the bus, steroid use on their historic teams was no secret. Rather, it framed context for this funeral experience. Worse, a determined reporter waited at the church: Jeff Barker, Baltimore Sun, sought to confirm Courson's allegations of steroid abuse among Steelers in the 1970s and '80s. Barker had already phoned a couple of the guys, inquiring whether they ever used steroids.
In 1985, Courson, as an All-Pro NFL lineman, publicly disclosed his anabolic-steroid use and football's widespread problem. He then waged an intellectual battle his remaining two decades. He became a lay expert on muscle doping and the blatant abuse of anabolic steroids, synthetic growth hormone and other tissue-building substances in American football - high school, college and the NFL. Along the way, he overcame alcoholism, obesity and heart disease, coached football, counseled thousands of young people, wrote a book, and twice testified before Congress. But he paid for telling the truth and attacking the machine. He was blackballed from pro football, losing more career opportunities, and dying in financial debt.
www.nydailynews.com
The following is an excerpt from Matt Chaney's "Spiral of Denial: Muscle Doping in American Football," a comprehensive analysis of steroid use in football and its impact on society
For ex-Steelers on the bus, steroid use on their historic teams was no secret. Rather, it framed context for this funeral experience. Worse, a determined reporter waited at the church: Jeff Barker, Baltimore Sun, sought to confirm Courson's allegations of steroid abuse among Steelers in the 1970s and '80s. Barker had already phoned a couple of the guys, inquiring whether they ever used steroids.
In 1985, Courson, as an All-Pro NFL lineman, publicly disclosed his anabolic-steroid use and football's widespread problem. He then waged an intellectual battle his remaining two decades. He became a lay expert on muscle doping and the blatant abuse of anabolic steroids, synthetic growth hormone and other tissue-building substances in American football - high school, college and the NFL. Along the way, he overcame alcoholism, obesity and heart disease, coached football, counseled thousands of young people, wrote a book, and twice testified before Congress. But he paid for telling the truth and attacking the machine. He was blackballed from pro football, losing more career opportunities, and dying in financial debt.
Excerpt: 'Spiral of Denial' reveals culture of steroid abuse in football
On a gray morning in southern Pennsylvania, November 2005, a white limousine bus approached Gettysburg. The travelers were ex-football players, Steelers of yore, late for the funeral of former teammate Steve Courson.
