With the stabbings in Atlanta, leaving two people dead, are no longer part of the Ray Lewis controversy, a new one, involving PEDs, a company called SWATS, Deer-antler spray and a substance called IGF-1, create a whole new one around the Baltimore Ravens linebacker.

For the record – Ray Lewis has never failed a drug test, and when asked directly whether he used the Deer-antler spray during his recovery period this season, surprising many by coming back for the postseason instead of missing out on the entire year, he denied ever using it.

The NFLPA said that the NFL does test for IGF-1, a substance on the banned list for NFL players, but the NFL said it is not detectable with the league’s current testing methods. More mysterious by the second.

SI.com are running a story on SWATS, already making the news two years ago on Yahoo, when then Raiders’ coach, Hue Jackson, was told by the league to cut off his interaction with the company. Mitch Ross, a co-owner, claimed he gave Jackson free products, which Jackson later gave to players, including Lewis.

So what is this Deer-antler spray? IGF-1, or insulin-like growth factor, is a natural, anabolic hormone that stimulates muscle growth. We have deer that we harvest out of New Zealand. Their antlers are the fastest-growing substance on planet Earth … because of the high concentration of IGF-1. We’ve been able to freeze dry that out, extract it, put it in a sublingual spray that you shake for 20 seconds and then spray three times under your tongue. … This stuff has been around for almost 1,000 years, this is stuff from the Chinese.

Lewis has never failed an NFL drug test; never tested positive on any random substance test that he’s taken throughout his career. A 13-time Pro Bowler that will go down as one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history and definitely the most prominent one in the last 15 years, but someone who now has another asterisk next to his name, this time regarding his on-the-field honesty and cleanliness.

Image: Source