Former NFL player Ross Tucker is now a columnist for Sports Illustrated, and he makes an interesting case in his most recent column: Tucker claims that the pressure to perform well in the 40-yard dash, bench press and other events at the NFL scouting combine leads some players to use performance-enhancing drugs.The most notable example is San Diego Chargers defensive lineman Luis Castillo, who tested positive for steroids at the 2005 combine. But Tucker also writes he talked to two recently retired NFL players who said they took performance-enhancing drugs before and/or after the combine.
"I had spent seemingly my whole life working toward the opportunity to play in the NFL," one NFL player who talked to Tucker said. "I wanted to be able to bench press at the combine and did not want teams to think that I was either injured or lacked the toughness to fight through an injury."
Another player who wasn't invited to the combine told Tucker, "Right after my college season I sat down and weighed the pros and cons of taking steroids, and ultimately decided that the pros outweighed the cons. I looked at this [my pro day workout] as my one shot in life."
Are stories like this common? Are dozens or hundreds of prospective NFL players using performance-enhancing drugs to get ready for workouts with NFL scouts? Tucker seems to think it goes far beyond the players he talked to.
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