There is a popular song by rap artist Future called “Mask Off” that has infectious chorus that is as controversial as it is counter-cultural.
“Percocets (Ya), molly, Percocets (Percocets)” is the anthem for club drugs and partying in general. However, one NFL superstar is vocal about “pushin P” and how it has helped him play through injuries. That NFL player would be none other than that baaaad man himself, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
LMAOOO RODGERS WAS OFF EM PERCS 💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/kFmd2xgwaE
— Sportz (@SportzGG) August 27, 2022
“The pain management, especially with our sport, is fascinating to see how things are ‘treated,'” Rodgers said during an appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “I use quotations on treated because, up until probably a decade ago, it was easily accessible to get oxy, Percocet, Vicodin, whatever you wanted; you played [on painkillers], definitely.”
Percocets are a combination of medications used to help relieve moderate to severe pain, according to WebMD. “It contains an opioid pain reliever (oxycodone) and a non-opioid pain reliever (acetaminophen). Oxycodone works in the brain to change how your body feels and responds to pain. Acetaminophen can also reduce a fever.”
Then the 2011 Super Bowl winner elaborated on his usage on game day, noting that it was not an intelligent decision but happened nonetheless.
“[I played] on Percocet. It was more for pain management, so I wasn’t taking any high dosage, but stupid, ultimately.”
In professional sports, the biggest open secret is that most are playing on the highest level of their sport with injuries. Rodgers said he had suffered knee pain that has been a nagging pain for a long time. He believes that the pain management protocols in the NFL are not working and dished on the part of the problem during the podcast.
“Here’s the thing: I had knee issues for a long time, and you take anti-inflammatories,” Rodgers continued. “You’re taking anti-inflammatories; they all come with a warning: If you take this more than a few weeks, you’ve got to get your blood tested because it can damage your liver. There are so many things you can take now, anti-inflammatory things that are natural and that don’t cause damage to your body.
“It’s ass backwards, the whole treatment of professional athletes — definitely in our sport, that we’re still giving out that stuff.”
Rodgers recently made headlines for admitting his usage of ayahuasca, a psychedelic drug that led him to an increased self-awareness that he thinks translated to the field. Mixed in a tea containing the hallucinogenic drug DMT, herbal medicine shamans have traditionally administered it during sweat lodge sessions. Users have claimed to get in touch with another part of themselves during the trip.
“I had a magical experience with the sensation of feeling a hundred different hands on my body imparting a blessing of love and forgiveness for myself and gratitude for this life from what seemed to be my ancestors,” he said during the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” earlier this month.
“I really feel like that set me on my course to be able to go back into my job and have a different perspective on things and to be way more free at work, as a leader, as a teammate, as a friend, as a lover. I really feel like that experience paved the way for me to have the best season of my career.”
From Percocet to ayahuasca, Rodgers is pushing the comfort zone of regulations in the search for a better way of pain management in pursuit of greatness on the football field.
