There is no existing policy that prohibits football players from endorsing supplement products or companies. However, the league was alarmed because of reports that a supplement company is selling products with ingredients banned by the sports organization. Some of its players are also endorsing the product.

Last month, Hue Jackson, the new coach of Oakland Raiders, was ordered to stop endorsing a supplement company that distributes a product containing a growth hormone precursor. The league prohibits coaches in endorsing a company or manufacturer selling supplement products.

The league also announced recently that they have already sent notices to all football players to stop any endorsement or connection with the company producing the product. The league spokesperson Brian McCarthy told the Associated Press that the NFL is currently investigating the issue. The league is still verifying the allegation that the product in question really contains a banned by-product of human growth hormone.

The supplement tainted with a banned ingredient is one of the products of Sports With Alternative To Steroids (S.W.A.T.S.). This company offer professional athletes products which they claim as steroid-free. However, one of their products contains IGF-1 (Insulin-like growth factor 1).

According to Elisabeth Quinn of About.com, IGF-1 is a naturally-occurring polypeptide protein hormone similar to insulin that is primarily produced by the liver. “IGF-1 plays an important role in stimulating growth during childhood and helps build and repair muscle tissue in adults,” she said. This is the reason why the National Football League prohibits players from using this substance because of its performance enhancing effects.

Other benefits of IGF-1 supplementation includes improvements in muscle hypertrophy, tissue repair and recovery time. After its discovery in the 1990’s, several manufacturers offered nutritional supplements containing IGF-1.

But if this supplement contains a banned substance, several football players should fail in the anti-doping test. SWATS owner Mitch Ross claimed that he’s been supplying coaches and players since 2008 but only one player complained about their product. Rams linebacker David Vobora sued the company in 2009 because he alleged that his positive steroid test was due to the “The Ultimate Spray.”

In the PostGame.com report, Ross was quoted how he distributes the supplement products to coaches and players in the league. “In April of ’08 I gave various alternatives to steroids, including spray, to Hue Jackson at the Ravens’ training camp. I also gave the spray to Jay Hayes of the Bengals and Anthony Lynn of the Jets. I want to prove that my protocol reverses the aging process on aging athletes and promotes the healing of injuries in a legal manner,” said Ross.

SWATS owner also provided text messages confirming his transactions with Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Sports analysts are now asking questions whether the league can really detect the substance. According to Ross, he was able to sent 25 bottles of spray to Lewis over the past two seasons. Bengals safety Roy Williams also acknowledged using the spray. However, both players never tested positive for a banned substance.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS