SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal judge in California refused to dismiss a lawsuit by 1,500 former NFL players claiming the teams and their training staffs routinely dispensed a range of powerful drugs, often without prescriptions, to mask pain and injuries and get players on the field without regard for their long-term health.
The ruling by federal judge William Alsup for the Northern District of California allows the class-action lawsuit to proceed to the discovery phase. Alsup dismissed a similar lawsuit against the NFL in December 2014, writing that the collective bargaining agreement was the proper forum to resolve the players' claims.