NFL tells Congress teams are in compliance on controlled substances
The NFL has responded to a letter four members of Congress sent last month to Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding allegations raised by plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit about teams’ transport, storage and distribution use of painkillers and other prescription drugs, as detailed in a story in The Washington Post.
“In short, we firmly believe that every NFL team is in compliance with the Controlled Substances Act,” Dennis Curran, senior vice president and general counsel for the NFL Management Council, wrote in the letter obtained by Paste BN Sports. “We know of no basis for suggesting otherwise.”
Curran wrote that Goodell asked him to respond to a letter sent March 15 – six days after the Post story was published – by Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., Diana DeGette, Gene Green and Jan Schakowsky, who raised a series of questions.
In his letter, which responds to those questions, Curran wrote that the Post story “does not accurately describe the scope and quality of medical care provided to players by team doctors and athletic trainers; nor does it accurately describe documents or testimony from the litigation.”
The letter also describes ongoing dialogue with the Drug Enforcement Administration and changes to NFL protocol regarding controlled substances.
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