Ex-New Orleans Saint Joe Horn among several players suing NFL over Toradol

This summer fierce legal battles erupted around the NFL — the players sued the league, the league sued the players, and even ex-players sued the league and the players — all over millions, and in some circumstances billions, of dollars in revenue.

But for all the insanity the ensued, for all the arguing, in the end all the parties involved more or less received what they wanted.

The NFL’s owners received more of the revenue pie, while the players slightly less with the promise of bigger contracts, the retired players even secured a bigger chunk of money for benefits and health care services.

Labor peace was established and a global settlement reached for most, if not all, the pending lawsuits. The NFL could finally breathe a collective sigh of relief, but wait, it ain’t over yet.

Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Horn is a prominent figure in yet another lawsuit brought against the NFL, and this time it has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with widely used pain killer Toradol.

"Toradol is in a group of drugs called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body. Toradol is used short-term (5 days or less) to treat moderate to severe pain, usually after surgery. It is used alone or in combination with other medicines. — drugs.com"

Horn, along with several other plaintiffs, claim that they now experience severe side affects after years of being injected with Toradol, which was used to keep them in the game and off the sideline when injured.

The side affects of this drug can include anxiety, depression, severe headaches, short-term memory loss, sleeping problems, dizziness, constipation, and nausea to name just a few.

Horn says he now suffers from random dizziness that often leads into full on blackouts, and he lays the blame squarely on the shoulders of the league whom he says never revealed what potential complications could arise from long term usage of the drug.

Toradol is still widely used in today’s NFL, to the point that some players receive shots whether they are actually injured or not. Often times when an announcement is made that a particular player “received an injection” to play, it’s Toradol that was in the needle.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello responded to media inquiries about the lawsuit in an email to the Associated Press.

"The NFL has long made player safety a priority and continues to do so. Any allegation that the NFL intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit. It stands in contrast to the league’s actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions."