Professional athletes aren't the only ones who get in trouble for performance-enhancing drugs. The University of Alabama football team is now under scrutiny for allegedly using deer antler spray before the 2012 BCS Championship Game, a contest the Tide won over the LSU Tigers, CBS Sports reports.
Players from the Tide squad were given free samples of the substance the night before the game in the team hotel by Sports With Alternative To Steroids officials, the Sports Illustrated report shows.
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis also allegedly used deer antler spray in 2012 for his injury rehabilitation that S.W.A.T.S. supplied to him. Lewis tore his triceps muscle in October, which was originally thought to be a season-ending injury. Though he never made it back in the regular season, Lewis has been the Ravens' team leader in tackles in each of the previous three playoff games.
Golfer Vijay Singh was included in the Sports Illustrated report on S.W.A.T.S., which has led the PGA Tour to investigate, Bleacher Report says.
Although IGF-1 is on the banned substance list for many professional sports, there is not currently a test for it. Major League Baseball warned its players in 2011 that Deer Antler Spray was on the league's cautionary list of products, according to ESPN. MLB also told its athletes that the spray could actually cause false positives in tests for methyltestosterone, another banned substance.
Despite it being banned in many sports, some experts don't believe Deer Antler Spray has its intended effects. The Baltimore Sun reports that there is no scientifically proven way to administer IGF-1 orally, which would render the Deer Antler Spray and Deer Antler Pills useless. FOX Sports spoke with a high-ranking official in the Council for Responsible Nutrition that claims it has not been proven that any Deer Antler products would work as well as or better than regular HGH injections.