“I Play Clean” is the battle cry of Hall of Fame Linebacker Daniel Butkus against the rising incidents of athletes using steroids. Amid the baseball hullabaloo at least someone from the NFL did something proactive. He channels his passion for football to the campaign against steroids. Its target are high-school students, giving them the message to steer clear from performance enhancing drugs. Butkus said he finds it disgusting that sports and steroids are being correlated with each other.

The ex-Chicago Bear expressed his concern that one day NFL might just find itself facing the Senate or the Congress like the baseball players are doing for being tangled in the steroids controversy.

From Reuters:

“It just disgusts me and I hope it doesn’t come to a point where I’m sitting there watching a Senate hearing and have them drilling some ex-football players on their steroids habit,” he said, referring to baseball’s appearance before Congress. “I want to lick this before that happens.”

The NFL has had its share of steroids cheats, notably San Diego Chargers Pro-Bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman, suspended for four games in 2006, and now-retired 1997 Defensive Player of the Year Dana Stubblefield, sentenced last month to two years’ probation for lying to investigators about his steroid use.

Knee injuries caused Dick’s premature departure from the NFL in 1973. His serious heart condition made him an advocate to medical causes the led to the Dick Butkus Center for Cardiovascular Wellness.

Butkus tells of the consequences that steroid use can bring to the heart. Some steroids are know to cause ventricular enlargement. Aside from that steroids can cause harmful effects especially when taken by adolescents. He shares the stories of parents whose kids were committed suicide caused by steroids.

Steroids have other potential side-effects such as growth stunts in adolescents, cancer, and liver damage.

Tags: Campaign, Dick Butkus, I Play Clean, NFL, steroids

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball, Steroids in NFL, Steroids in Sports