At a time when many football fans are wondering why the NFL keeps suspending players for using Adderall as a performance-enhancing drug, Bears receiver Brandon Marshall says there’s another common prescription medication that players use to get an edge: Marshall says he has heard stories of other players using Viagra as a performance enhancer.
Yes, he means on the football field. Get your mind out of the gutter.
According to Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Marshall told reporters today that he has heard stories of other players using Viagra to get an edge.
Marshall isn’t the first to hear about that: A 2008 Slate article noted that Viagra works by dilating blood vessels and increasing oxygenation, which means it could improve athletic performance, particularly at elevation. If you’re playing a game in Denver -- where Marshall spent his first four NFL seasons -- and you want to reduce the effects of playing at altitude on your body, popping a Viagra could help.
Or a road trip to Denver could be a convenient excuse for a player filling a Viagra prescription.