Swooping In

DEA Surprises NFL With Drug Inspections

To check for any violations.

Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted surprise inspections targeting the medical and training staffs of visiting NFL teams on Sunday. The unprecedented actions were part of an effort to determine whether staffers violated federal drug laws governing the handling and distribution of prescription painkillers, according to ESPN’s Outside the Lines. A federal official told ESPN the inspections were spurred by allegations raised in a May 2014 federal lawsuit filed on behalf of several prominent NFL players who alleged team physicians and trainers routinely gave them painkillers in an illegal manner to mask injuries and keep them on the field. Spokesmen for the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers acknowledged DEA agents visited them Sunday.