One thing is for sure, where there is hockey, there is pain. That will never go away, no matter how much you limit the game. Alternative treatments on case by case, player by player, basis would be a start. Both writers had experiences where they had fellow teamates blaze up before the games and actually play better. No doubt, not the case for everyone, especially on the harsh NHL level. Opens up the doors to at least explore less harmful alternatives. If after a game, instead of popping a pill, why not smoke a dooby? Smoking bad for needed lung strength… eat a brownie. That should make the bus ride and related pain, a bit more tolerable. Studies upon studies, showing is much less harmful and addictive, than the now used meds. (even tylenol) …Not a solution by any means, but a start.

Of course, there should a huge asterisk by everything I wrote:  I wasn’t a real hockey player, I was a stupid goalie. Pretty good one, but still a goalie. 

Kidding aside, I think we’re on the same page. 

Oh my God, dude… we also had a kid that would smoke weed before games and he was a goddamn rockstar when he did, and mildly useless when he didn’t. What’s with that? Ha

Very fair critiques, Chris. I hope you don’t think I was being disrespectful in my response to yours. I took it as a blanket “disagree” and not to a handful of lines that I do still stand by. I don’t think that drug use is a big problem in our game, but it’s certainly a bigger problem than I’d like it to be. If that makes sense. 

Like you just said, I don’t think hockey made them addicts. I think they’re addicts who play hockey. I simply wanted to share that they’re in that group, like they’re in all group. 

Michael,

I’m not disagreeing with the fact that you saw people take painkillers and don’t mean to imply that you are lying at all in that respect; please don’t take it as such.  I’m simply disagreeing with the overall tone of the story which seems to imply that there is a painkiller problem in hockey, something that Jason Justin Bourne implicates in his article.  I simply disagree with that sentiment.  

You start out with this: “Today’s problem is drug use in our game.”  You do then follow up with a bit of a contradictory statement with the previous: “Despite Boogaard’s death, you
can’t convince me that drug use is rampant in hockey or that it’s a problem among our players.” The general tone of the article, along with the title, however, aligns with your first statement and that’s how I read it.  Statements like this seem to imply that it was widespread and more than the 5-6 players you mention:

In college, again as Bourne says, it wasn’t uncommon for one guy to pass
another a pill before (or, more likely, after) a game. I’m not sure how
many of them were pre-med (oh wait, yes I am: zero), but something
tells me they weren’t in a position to be distributing on a bus. Again,
like high school, I would politely decline and wonder if I was the weird one for not indulging.

Now I am not claiming that my fellow teammates never took painkillers.  Nor am I claiming that there weren’t abuses out there occasionally of Vicodin, etc.  And I’m certainly not saying that no one on my team used drugs.  A decent number of teammates smoked weed.  Usually it was just occasionally, but one season I’d even say it was fairly prevailent.  One player used to smoke before every game, and it honestly made him a much better player (weird guy, great defenseman).  I know a few guys enjoyed nose candy once in a while, one of which decided he liked it a little too much and ended up getting in legal trouble for it.  So in no way am I saying that there weren’t drugs around the team in some way or another. 

But I can’t agree that the use and more notably abuse of painkillers (or even drugs) was as common as you indicated.   I certainly never felt weird for not indulging in any drugs, it wasn’t my thing and that was fine.  I drank my ass off in college, but we even had players who didn’t drink.  They were never given too hard of a time for it.  Nor was there wasn’t a “back of the bus” pain pill trade going on in my experience. 

Did it happen occasionally?  Absolutely.  Our team was in fact probably no different than your average group of college guys.   Are there going to be individual problems within that group?  Certainly.  But is that an indicative of a problem within hockey?  I don’t believe so.  Those players would have become addicted to something, whether or not they played hockey or if it was painkillers, acid, meth, coke etc..

If we were to talk about further questions regarding hockey players, I think drinking would be one to ask.  But that’s neither here nor there, nor am I saying that there is a problem.  Just that it was certainly more of a potential problem then painkillers.    (Now, that being said, there might be a problem of painkillers amongst fighters, which is a different breed than a regular hockey player.)

The hockey locker room is a rough place. Individual instances of this
behavior certainly occur.  But the fact that there are anecdotes from
both our careers doesn’t to mean mean that there is any need for “further
questions.”  It simply wasn’t a serious problem from my experiences.  

So again, I’m not calling you a liar.   I think you should be able to see is that I simply have had some similar and some different experiences; from this, I’ve formed a different opinion than you and felt I should share it.  I love the site, your writing, and your contribution to the blogosphere.  Plus without you, I wouldn’t have free curly fries twice per year…and that certainly counts for something. 

Chris

Anyway, I’m no authority on sports teams, but I can also say that I have known a lot of people that pop OTC pain meds like they are candy.  (“Oh, I feel off today so I’ll just take 4 ibuprofen.  I have to take 4 because my tolerance is so high.”)  Just because they are cheap and easily accessible does not mean that overuse (or unnecessary use) doesn’t have consequences…like liver damage.  Its definitely scary how that thought really doesn’t seem to have the same impact on people’s decisions as it used to.

I had a single wisdom tooth removed and I also got the script filled, but didn’t take it. It certainly hurt, but it wasn’t something that needed more than an Aleve or two a day, like you said. Considering the weak stomach I’m blessed with, it didn’t seem like a reasonable trade-off in case my tummy started to rumble. HA

I had a single wisdom tooth removed and I also got the script filled, but didn’t take it. It certainly hurt, but it wasn’t something that needed more than an Aleve or two a day, like you said. Considering the weak stomach I’m blessed with, it didn’t seem like a reasonable trade-off in case my tummy started to rumble. HA

I appreciate your input and I’m glad to hear you didn’t have similar experiences, but I’ll be honest. I’m irked by this comment. There’s nothing in here for you to “disagree” with unless you are, in fact, implying that I’m lying. There’s no opinions being tossed around and I’m not saying everyone who plays hockey is like that. But I’m sharing stories that are real, in the same vein that Bourne did. To “really not think it is” like I’ve described is tantamount to saying this has been fabricated and that’s not an implication I take lightly. 

I played hockey for 19 years, and there are mentions of — maybe — five or six guys in this piece. That’s not all that prevalent and, frankly, we’re both being naive if we think those were the only ones. For you to think it’s less than that is silly.