Saints' Kenny Vaccaro took Adderall before Texas State Fair, didn't realize NFL banned drug
We’re occasionally amazed at what NFL players will admit to, and in the case of New Orleans Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro his ignorance of league rules about banned substances cost him four games via suspension.
Vaccaro admitted to ESPN’s Mike Triplett that he did not know taking Adderall was against the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Then Vaccaro told Triplett why he took it: to get a boost of energy for the Texas State Fair and before watching his brother play in the Texas-Oklahoma game after that.
“To be honest, I just made a mistake,” Vaccaro said. “I was just tired and I really wasn’t aware of the whole rule thing. The game’s early in the morning, the state fair was going on. I never took it before. I just did it, and it was just a dumb mistake by me, to be honest. And then I came back in Monday and had a random PED test. But that’s the rules, and I take full responsibility.”
Vaccaro was forced to sit out Weeks 14 through 17 and watched as the Saints failed to make the postseason. He has been in the NFL since 2013 and the drug has been on the banned-substance list since well before he ever entered the league, so his ignorance on this is stunning. Dozens of NFL players have been suspended for it, including his former teammate, Saints kicker Garrett Hartley, although that happened in 2009 when Vaccaro was still at Texas. Players openly have talked over the past few years about how usage of the drug is rampant in the league, and the NFL and players’ union have resources to prevent players from accidentally taking a substance that might be illegal.
Hilariously enough, Hartley said then in 2009 what Vaccaro said now — that he didn’t know it was not allowed — but to their credit, both said it was not an excuse.
“It wasn’t worth it to get a little bit of energy to watch a game to come back and get a random PED test on a Monday,” Vaccaro said. “I mean, people can say it was unlucky, but I shouldn’t have done it in the first place. But I don’t take it, I don’t have any problems. I just wanted to be up and alert. I don’t take Adderall ever.”
Except that one time. And Vaccaro got dinged for it, costing him four game checks that added up to almost three-quarters of a million bucks. Knowledge, it would appear, is power. Bet you Vaccaro won’t make that mistake again.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
