Painkillers in the NFL: Marcellus Wiley & the False Choice

Nothing but respect for Marcellus Wiley. He seems like a very smart and thoughtful guy that actually knows exactly what he's talking about.

Cant believe people are stupid enough to say this is Marcellus' fault. He acknowledges that he did take them and he is a grown man, but the DOCTOR prescribed them, checked his medical records every year, and never mentioned any of the side effects, knowing that Wiley also had asthma. Some people are so stupid to claim that he should have know. Nobody has the time to be an expert every field of life. Are we all supposed to check our support beams by ourselves to make sure the construction workers did a sufficient job building our house? Should I take apart my oven to make sure everything is working right and it doesn't explode the next time I turn it on?

everyone knows the nfl doesn't give two shits about their players. its sick

Man as Marine i took Oxycodone to stay in shape for the fitness test after surgery. I became addicted after 3 months of taking the stuff. I realized something was wrong. Im crying right now thank you Marcellus

Ok people are telling Marcellus to know what goes into his body and do his research. How does one do research? Ask around right? Who best knows about these kind of drugs? DOCTORS. The same doctors who told him he could take said drugs. This was back in the 80's-90's, so you couldnt just google drugs and shit

It always blows my mind that people love these players when they're on your team, all drugged up and taking concussions so you can be happy, and when a player needs medical attention on the field we applaud them but as soon as they need medical attention off the field we do the opposite.

This sounds like some of the same stuff that happens to military veterans

Its sad how much shady stuff happens behind closed doors in the NFL. For the owners, $ > players health.

"This is not about principal with an AL, but about principle with an LE" Very well said!

another great piece by vice

Wish this video was longer

I got a shot of Toradol last month for a major back injury that I didnt want opiates for. I went from calling my mother to help me out of bed at 9am, to manually changing a tire on my car 20min after I got the shot 3 hours later. It was a miracle, and I can totally understand why the players loved it. Its not euphoric and addictive like opiates, but its an insane anti-inflammatory. If you have a job to do that requires huge physical prowess and you are already in pain, its the PERFECT drug.

Now I know why Kawahi wanted out of San Antonio after his injury assessment

Yeah, for everyone saying Marcellus should know everything about the drugs he was given. You do realize that this is before the internet was as big as it is? His only frame of reference for the drug info are the doctors giving him the drugs and they aren't being up front and honest in the first place.

Wiley is an Awesome guy who tells it like it is.

But you can't smoke weed. The NFL is a joke.

"let's fix this together" mad respect for mr Wiley a brave intellectually honest man thank you sir

Great piece. Very articulate guy.

Thank you Vice Sports, this way way more informative than i imagined.

i had Marcellus he comes off like kind of an arrogant athlete but after watching this i got respect for thw guy