The Sports Illustrated report that came out on Tuesday about the deer antler spray company named a number of high-profile athletes, including Ray Lewis, Vijay Singh, Johnny Damon and Alabama Crimson Tide players.
The title of the story reporters David Epstein and George Dohrmann by is, "The zany story of two self ordained sports science entrepreneurs."
The report details the company S.W.A.T.S. -- Sports with Alternatives to Steroids - and its two owners Christopher Key and Mitch Ross. The article offers numerous details, including about videos taken of players talking about the products as well as players endorsing the products.
The Ravens linebacker adamantly denied the accusations during Media Day at the Super Bowl and was more forceful on Wednesday, saying he was "agitated" with the reports, but not angry.
"I'm never angry. I'm too blessed to be stressed," the Baltimore Ravens linebacker said when told that he seemed angry. "You can use a different word. You can use the word agitated because I'm here to win the Super Bowl. I'm not here to entertain somebody that doesn't affect that one way or another. The word agitated is probably better."
On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated reported that Lewis reached out to Sports with Alternatives to Steroids (SWATS) owner Mitch Ross to obtain deer-antler velvet extract, which contains IGF-1, which is on the NFL's list of banned substances. Using the spray would be a violation of the NFL's steroids policy. The deer-antler spray is supposed to be sprayed under the tongue and could have helped Lewis speed his recovery from a torn right triceps. Lewis missed 10 games with the injury.
On Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis:
-"Hours after he tore his triceps during an Oct. 14 home game against the Cowboys, Ravens All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis and Ross connected on the phone. Again, Ross videotaped the call."
-"It's bottom, near the elbow," Lewis said of the tear. After asking a few pseudo diagnostic questions, Ross concluded, "All right, well this is going to be simple. . . . How many pain chips you got around the house?"
-"I got plenty of them," Lewis replied.
-Toward the end of the talk, Lewis asked Ross to "just pile me up and just send me everything you got, because I got to get back on this this week."
On golfer Vijay Singh:
-Vijay Singh, however, remains a vocal supporter. In November, Singh paid Ross $9,000 for the spray, chips, beam ray and powder additive -- making him one of the few athletes who is compensating S.W.A.T.S. He says he uses the spray banned by the PGA "every couple of hours . . . every day," sleeps with the beam ray on and has put chips on his ankles, waist and shoulders. "I'm looking forward to some change in my body," Singh says. "It's really hard to feel the difference if you're only doing it for a couple of months."
On former Yankees star Johnny Damon:
- "The antechamber at S.W.A.T.S. headquarters is festooned with testimonials from famous athletes, including posters of Damon. Ross met Damon through a friend and flew to Tampa for spring training in 2008, when the outfielder was with the Yankees. Ross says he accompanied a group of players on a hospital visit to meet wounded veterans and gave Damon chips for neck pain. "It is my intention," reads Damon's testimonial poster, "to join you in this crusade and become a member of the S.W.A.T.S. Team, as well as encourage other current and former professional athletes to do the same."
On the Alabama players:
- Convinced that he had a performance enhancer, Ross pounded the pavement. In 2008, he staked out the Alabama football facility, waiting to give players hologram stickers. "Remember Jimmy Johns selling cocaine in the [Alabama] parking lot?" Ross says of the former Tide linebacker. "I was doing the same thing but giving them chips for free."
On Ravens coach Hue Jackson:
-In 2010, after Jackson was hired as coach of the Raiders, Ross met him in a Nashville restaurant on the eve of the opener against the Titans to videotape a testimonial. In the interview, which Ross put on YouTube, they discuss what would happen if Jackson failed to provide Ravens with the stickers. "Guys would be pissed off," Jackson says. "Ya know, 'Coach didn't put our chips in the locker.' "
Lewis hammered home his denial claims on Wednesday.
"I've never, ever took what he says I was supposed to do. It's just sad that someone can have this much attention on a stage this big where the dreams are really real. I don't need it, my teammates don't need it, the 49ers don't need it. Nobody needs it because it just really shows you that people really plan things and try to attack people from the outside. It's just very foolish. The guy has no credibility. He's been sued four or five times over this same BS. I just truly believe he doesn't have the privilege for me to speak about it ever again," he continued.
