Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Shermandenied saying that "half the league" uses Adderall, but Washington Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garcon acknowledges it's a growing problem in the NFL.
"There is an issue with it," Garcon told "NFL AM" on Thursday when asked about comments Sherman reportedly said Tuesday. "It gives you an upper hand that regular guys like myself don't have. It helps you focus more attention to what's going on, on the field and that is an advantage because regular people like myself ... don't have it. But it is an advantage. We're all trying to get an advantage, but if it's illegal, it's illegal -- you can't do it."
Said Garcon: "I guess some guys abuse it. There are ways, as any drug can be abused from pain relievers to Adderall to whatever else they need to help them perform on Sunday or perform better on Sundays. Some guys do need it to stay up in meetings and to learn the plays, to study plays, but it can be abused on the field."
Sufferers of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) use Adderall to get through their day-to-day lives, but Garcon is talking about the drug being used as a performance-enhancer. Still, Garcon said he hasn't heard overwhelming reports of the drug's use.
Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk agreed, telling "NFL AM" on Thursday, "I don't know if I've seen a lot of guys trying to get it, you know, from the back channels and trying to skirt the test.
"I don't know how you can do that because we get tested so often that it would show up in your test," Hawk said. "So, I mean maybe some guys are trying to hit up some doctors and really try and talk to them and get a prescription for it, if anything, I think."
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
