The tragic death of Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid‘s son may raise some questions about the NFL’s growing performance-enhancing drugs issues.
Garrett Reid had 19 vials of steroids in his room at the team’s training camp facility when he died, according to Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli. The younger Reid was serving as a volunteer on the team’s strength and conditioning staff.
Reid had 64 needles and 47 syringes in his Eagles dorm room at Lehigh University. Morganelli said the NFL has not contacted him about the steroids, which included testosterone propionate, boldenone undecylenate, nandrolone phenyl propionate and trembolone acetate.
The elder Reid said that he is “confident that my son’s decisions did not affect our football team in any way.” Reid died of a heroin overdose on Aug. 5.
The Eagles’ owner, Jeffrey Lurie, released a statement on the findings in Reid’s room.
“The news today on Garrett Reid’s possession of steroids is disappointing. It’s clear the conduct in which he apparently engaged runs counter to the values and principles mandated for everyone associated with our organization,” said Lurie. “We have spoken with the league office and have pledged our full cooperation with their requests should there be any. While we remained saddened by the tragic end of a young man’s life and know how hard this must be for the entire Reid family, we are extremely confident that Garrett’s actions were unknown to those around him and did not involve our football team.
“The NFL has a rigorous drug testing program for its players. It is a matter of record that none of our players has tested positive for any of the steroids mentioned in the district attorney’s report.”
The NFL has not suspended any Eagles players this season for performance-enhancing drugs.
