1. The first paragraph of a news article should answer the questions who, what, where and when. List the who, what, where and when of this news item. (NOTE: The remainder of a news article provides details on the why and/or how.)

2. What allegations do the former players from all 32 NFL teams make in their lawsuit?

3. What damage did this cause players, according to the lawsuit?

4. a) Who is Anthony Yates - what are his qualifications?
b) What did Dr. Yates testify to in his deposition?

5. What did the head trainer for the Cincinnati Bengals write in an email that was submitted as evidence to back up the allegations made in the lawsuit?

6. What information about the amount of doses prescribed by team doctors was submitted as evidence?

7. How has the NFL responded to the allegations made in the lawsuit?

8. From The Washington Post article:

When asked his opinion, Arthur Caplan, director of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University’s Langone Medical Center said, “It sounds like an incredible amount of intervention with some pretty risky drugs, some of which, in the case of Vicodin, have a high addiction potential. It makes you think, are the physicians looking out for the health of the players, or are they just trying to keep them on the field?”

Drug experts who reviewed the data for The Post cautioned that a thorough understanding of the league’s use of pain medication is limited without knowing the exact dosages, types of controlled substances administered and whether all the players on a team were consuming the medications or whether a smaller number accounted for a larger percentage of the drug use.

What do you think?

a) Is it probable that the NFL teams were looking to make money at the expense of their players?
b) If found to be true, does this revelation change your opinion of the NFL? Explain your answer.
c) If found to be false, does this revelation change your opinion of the former players? Explain your answer.