Haslett-Steelers were 'roid kings in late70s

[jjakq27]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../503250428/1062

Friday, March 25, 2005

Haslett says '70s Steelers led NFL in steroid use

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett says he used steroids when he starred as a linebacker in the early 1980s, and claims the Pittsburgh Steelers' use of the drugs during Super Bowl championship seasons in the 1970s brought steroids into vogue around the NFL.

Haslett on Thursday said when he played in the NFL, steroid use was rampant because the league had no policy banning such drugs.

"You had so many people using them, because they were legal," Haslett said. "I talked about it to show how far our league has come."

Haslett, the Steelers' defensive coordinator from 1997-99, made his initial remarks Wednesday. They were published in Thursday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Los Angeles Times.

Haslett, who played for Buffalo and the New York Jets, said he used steroids for one season early in his career.

"It started, really, in Pittsburgh. ... They were so much stronger (in the) '70s, late '70s, early '80s," Haslett said Wednesday.

Steelers owner Dan Rooney rejected Haslett's claims, noting the Steelers were known for smaller, quicker linemen who ran trap plays that required they be agile, not bulky.

"This is totally false when he says it started with the Steelers in the '70s," Rooney told the Post-Gazette. "... Haslett, maybe it affected his mind."

Haslett on Wednesday estimated half the league's players, and all its linemen, took steroids in the 1980s before they were banned by the league. The league began testing for steroids in 1987, but players weren't suspended for using them until 1989

[stuck]

I remember when Haslett, then with the Bills, placekicked Terry Bradshaw in the head.