Athletes & Addiction: Drug Abuse in Sports & Rehab Near Me

Addiction Talk Athlete Interviews

Addiction and substance use amongst athletes can be hard to overcome due to the stigma of addiction. Listen to our Addiction Talk interviews with past and present professional athletes and their struggles with addiction.

The Deep Entrenchment of Addiction Among Athletes

The problem of athletes turning to addiction is not one that happens in isolation. Research indicates that misusing controlled substances takes place across all sports and athletic competitions.¹ Various aspects of athletic life are conducive to drug misuse; in addition to performance enhancement, athletes take drugs (or are given drugs to take) to medicate injuries, and to deal with mental and emotional stress that comes from life on and off the field, track, court, or ring, and even after retirement. Consuming these drugs (especially in a high-pressure and high-risk environment, like professional sports and athletics) presents a significant risk of developing an addiction to them.

Studies have suggested that 33% of doctors work with people who use drugs to improve their athletic performances, so much so that the issue is “deeply entrenched” in the sporting world, despite the life-threatening risks.² For a number of reasons, sportsmen and women are much more likely to use drugs and alcohol than the general population.

The Types of Drugs Used in Athletic Addiction

The breakdown of drugs that are most commonly misused by athletes explains some of the reasoning behind this way of endangering their lives and careers.

Some research suggests that anabolic steroids are taken to increase muscle mass and body weight (while decreasing fat), and increase levels of aggression.³ They work this way because they are designed to be derived from testosterone, the male hormone responsible for sexual characteristics in males. Anabolic steroids have legitimate medical uses, but they are not meant for consumption for reasons of unfair sporting advantages, like the boosts in stamina and strength that athletes get from taking them.⁴

However, in addition to the unethical implications of using anabolic steroids to get ahead on the field, they can cause distressing and painful withdrawal symptoms when regular use is discontinued (especially if that use was unregulated). The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) explains that athletes may experience mood swings, fatigue, insomnia, and cravings for more steroids, compelling them to keep taking the drugs even as the consequences pile up.^5,6 Since anabolic steroids manipulate the body’s production of the testosterone hormone, male athletes can suffer erectile dysfunction and develop enlarged breasts and smaller testicles. Female athletes can grow body hair and develop a deeper voice while missing their periods and lowering their estrogen levels, which can lead to their breasts shrinking.⁷

Stimulants like amphetamines and cocaine are a “real public health problem.” Researchers found that an alarming number of athletes consume drugs that chemically excite the central nervous system to:⁸

• Minimize fatigue.
• Increase mental alertness.
• Boost energy and aggression.

Not only are sportspeople taking stimulants during sporting events, they also take the drugs during training, to mimic the intensity and adrenaline rush they get when they are performing in front of thousands of cheering fans. Some research suggests that amphetamines also have the effects of increasing self-confidence and decreasing appetite, which might be of particular interest to athletes who are looking to trim their body weight for their pursuits.⁹ In fact, even gymnasts and ballet dancers are tempted to follow in the risky footsteps of football players and professional wrestlers.¹⁰

Athletes Using Adderall

For all the praise and adulation athletes receive, they do not have the luxury of calling in sick. The drug of choice passed around by players and coaches is Adderall, best known for its use in treating patients with ADHD and narcolepsy, but also misused by college students for its effect of causing heightened awareness and mental focus for hours on end.¹¹

A side effect of Adderall (and other stimulants, like methamphetamine and cocaine) is that the drug causes the individual who takes it to feel incredibly good. The mental sharpness is not just clarity in thinking; it is a burst of superhuman pleasure, so much so that all other forms of satisfaction can feel cold and lifeless by comparison. This is a result of the way the amphetamines in Adderall hijack the brain’s rewards system, rewriting neural pathways to make an individual seek out more of the same. As with anabolic steroids (and any other drug), misusing Adderall has a number of other negative side effects, too, including anxiety, sleep disorders and unpredictable changes in mood. If an individual tries to stop taking Adderall, their body reacts physically (e.g., nausea, vomiting, and muscle cramps) and psychologically (depression, to the point of suicidal thoughts), compelling the consumption of more Adderall.¹²

So widespread is the problem of athletes using stimulants to overcome fatigue and exhaustion that the US Anti-Doping Agency explains that such drugs are the source of psychological dependence and addiction among individuals who misuse them.¹³

Killing the Pain

On the other side of the spectrum, narcotics have been found in locker rooms and gym bags. Athletes use these drugs to be able to keep working through the physical pain that comes with their job. Misusing prescription medication (taking pain pills without a doctor’s prescription) is illegal and dangerous, but that doesn’t stop some athletes from doing it. With the promise of lucrative contracts and endorsement deals, sitting out a few games to nurse an injury effectively entails ceding a coveted spot to another up-and-coming athlete. But when there are miracle pills that can make the pain go away, some are willing to turn a blind eye to the practice.

Unfortunately, these medications are so strong, and so powerfully addictive, that the use can become problematic right out of the gate.

From Painkillers to Heroin

In the same way that stimulants target the areas of the brain that deal with pleasure and rewards, painkillers–chemically based on the same compounds that power heroin–have a similar effect, to the point that using such narcotics as a form of long-term pain management can lead to the development of an addiction.¹⁴

The connection between prescription painkillers and heroin has led to tens of thousands of people across the country becoming hooked on heroin, and some athletes addicted to painkillers have joined them. For one athlete, the pills led to heroin, and the heroin led to a fatal overdose at 22.¹⁵

The Price of Addiction

These drugs are dangerously addictive on their own, but when combined with the purchasing power of professional and up-and-coming athletes, they have ruined entire careers and lives.

Ryan Leaf was one of the top picks in the 1998 draft, but anger problems and an addiction to pain medication saw him drop out of the NFL four years later. After pleading guilty to burglary and illegal possession of painkillers, he was sentenced to five years in jail for breaking and entering for the purpose of stealing more pills. Leaf had illegally hoarded almost 1,000 pain pills from local pharmacies.

Craig Newsome, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, was charged for forging a prescription to obtain painkillers. Newsome had become addicted to Percocet after multiple surgeries for injuries, including a career-ending broken back. The charge carried a penalty of six years and $30,000 upon conviction.

Earl Campbell was one of the greatest college football players in history, but par-for-the-course injuries made the spinal stenosis he was born with even worse. Campbell washed down his prescriptions of Vicodin and OxyContin with Budweiser, later calling his battle with addiction his “toughest opponent.”

Walt Sweeney accused the San Diego Chargers of starting his addiction to drugs by handing out pills to players in the locker room. In his memoir, he claimed that support staff “directly” created his drug addiction, feeding him a cocktail of substances before, during, and after games.

Ray Lucas downed 800 pills a month (25 a day) after a combination of injuries and surgeries on his neck and back. His attempt to moderate his intake led to withdrawal symptoms that deepened the addiction.

Head Injuries and Addiction

Drug addiction never exists in a vacuum, and the same goes for athletes. In addition to the various forms of stress they endure as a result of their calling, certain injuries are more conducive to the development of chronic substance use. Researchers and doctors have found that chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that comes from repeated and violent impact to the head, has a connection to addiction. Those kinds of head injuries directly affect the neural pathways that deal with motivation and incentive, which increases the risk of addiction in patients who have suffered such damage.¹⁶

Another area of concern when it comes to damage to the head is concussion, especially in contact sports like football, hockey, boxing, and wrestling. Studies indicate that athletes who received concussions during sports had a high risk of developing major depression. In fact, one study of 2,552 former football players revealed that the higher the number of concussions, the greater the frequency of diagnoses of depression.¹⁷

Concussion and depression are serious medical issues in their own right, but for athletes, the conditions occur in a culture that casts mental health problems as a sign of weakness. Research suggests that depression in athletes is being ignored because players are compelled to ignore symptoms and effects in favor of looking strong for their peers, coaches, and fans.¹⁸

Sports Psychology

Here, the unique culture and mindset of sports might necessitate the skills of a sports psychologist, a professional who is trained to understand how the human mind of a professional (or even amateur) athlete is geared to work. According to the American Psychological Association, sports psychologists can help athletes improve their performances, boost their motivation, and rediscover a passion for their sport using various mental strategies.¹⁹

But sports psychologists can also help athletes cope with the intense pressure of competition by developing strategies and techniques to help them achieve a healthy balance of expectations and outcomes. Additionally, since injuries can be mentally debilitating for athletes (and the idea of seeking mental health treatment may be anathema for some), sports psychologists specialize in working with them on adjusting to the reality of taking time off for injuries to naturally heal. That is not an idea that is commonplace in many locker rooms, but it is vital to the effectiveness of a sportsperson recovering from addiction.

Treating Athletes with Addiction Issues

When it comes to treating athletes who are struggling with addiction, certain elements of generally accepted methods of healing apply; other forms of therapy are unique to the sporting world.

Individual circumstances determine the first stages of treatment, which usually involve a period of medical detoxification.²⁰ This will ensure that the athlete’s body is given a safe environment in which to wean itself off drugs and he or she can be kept as comfortable as possible under the supervision of a healthcare professional.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, medical detox alone is not typically enough to correct addictive behavior in the long run. For that, an athlete would need counseling and therapy. With effective and comprehensive treatment, the athlete can learn to identify triggers, manage stressors, and avoid relapse.

If you or an athlete you love struggles with addiction, American Addiction Centers (AAC) can help. AAC uses evidence-based therapies to treat addiction and co-occurring mental health conditions at its treatment centers scattered throughout the country. Reach out to connect with a knowledgeable admissions navigator, who can answer your questions, explain the options, and help you begin your recovery journey.