NFLPA files grievance on drug waivers

The NFL Players Association has filed a grievance related to waivers players signed regarding the prescribed use of pain medication Toradol. The NFLPA said Wednesday it was asking that liability waivers players were required to sign before being given Toradol be voided. The union issued the action against the NFL's teams and the league Management Council. Toradol is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory used as short-term treatment for moderate-to-severe pain. The drug has been linked to increased risk of life-threatening heart and circulation problems along with serious side effects to the stomach or intestines. Team physicians, acting as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, have been seeking the signed waivers. "If an NFL Club physician believes a player would be placed at an unacceptable medical risk by using Toradol as part of the care and treatment of an injury, or if the club physician is concerned about the long-term effects of such use, the team's medical staff should inform the player of that opinion and refuse to administer Toradol," the NFLPA said in a release. "The NFL Club physician should not administer Toradol and require that a player sign a waiver of liability before doing so. If, on the other hand, there is no such concern on the part of the club's medical staff, it should advise the player that the use of Toradol is appropriate."