GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 25: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers participates in warmups prior to a game against the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field on December 25, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Browns 24-22. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers admitted on Joe Rogan’s podcast that he played an NFL game on the painkiller Percocet before.
Rodgers opened up about the decision he called “stupid.”
“The pain management, especially with our sport, is fascinating to see how things are ‘treated.’ I use quotations on treated because, up until probably a decade ago, it was easily accessible to get oxy, Percocet, Vicodin, whatever you wanted. … you played [on painkillers]definitely,” Rodgers said on the The Joe Rogan Experience.
“[I played] on Percocet. It was more for pain management, so I wasn’t taking any high dosage, but stupid, ultimately. Here’s the thing: I had knee issues for a long time, and you take anti-inflammatories. You’re taking anti-inflammatories, they all come with a warning: If you take this for more than a few weeks, you’ve gotta get your blood tested because it can damage your liver. There are so many things you can take now, anti-inflammatory things, that are natural, that don’t cause damage to your body.”
It’s a concerning admission and it’s something that is likely common across the league.
Painkillers can be highly addictive if abused, which is why the NFL has likely become more lenient with things like marijuana in recent years.
“The league using it as leverage in negotiations does not mean that they did not already know that curbing substance abuse from painkillers was priority number one for avoiding future lawsuits. It accomplished two things,” Killman added.
“In HS… yes… high school… we had guys like this.. myself included.. the “play through it mentality” is one part admirable and another sad and dangerous,” one fan added.
“You think the league cares about players getting addicted? If they did they would introduce the incredibly simple solution of ANY oversight of the drugs that teams give players but they won’t cause they don’t care about the problem they just want the complaining to stop,” another fan wrote.
Be smart, NFL players.
.