Rumor: Ray Lewis used illegal substance

Unconfirmed: Ray Lewis used an illegal substance.

Every year, the Super Bowl brings with it its own set of rumors — from the players to the ads to the performers. Today,  there's lots of chatter involving Baltimore Ravens superstar linebacker Ray Lewis, who has been linked to a banned substance in a recent Sports Illustrated report.

According to SI, Lewis might have used an HGH-like deer-antler spray to speed his recovery from a torn right triceps injury he suffered in October. The SI reports details how a company called Sports With Alternatives to Steroids (S.W.A.T.S.) helped Lewis recover with the help of the banned substance.

The Philadelphia Inquirer describes S.W.A.T.S. as "an edgy sports science company run by a gym owner/former stripper." The company "specializes in holographic stickers, deer-antler pills, and other, um, progressive means of enhancing a player's performance," says the Inquirer.

Excerpt from SI article

This excerpt from the SI article describes how S.W.A.T.S. owner Mitch Ross helped Lewis recover during the regular season:

"Ross says he provided the products free of charge. ... All Ross wanted in return, he told Lewis, is for the future Hall of Famer to tell the truth — that he used S.W.A.T.S. products — when he returned to the field.

Ross prescribed a deluxe program, including holographic stickers on the right elbow; copious quantities of the powder additive; sleeping in front of a beam-ray light programmed with frequencies for tissue regeneration and pain relief; drinking negatively charged water; a 10-per-day regimen of the deer-antler pills that will "rebuild your brain via your small intestines" (and which Lewis said he hadn't been taking, then swallowed four during the conversation); and spritzes of deer-antler velvet extract (the Ultimate Spray) every two hours.

Ross reportedly videotaped his phone conversation with Lewis:

"Spray on my elbow every two hours?" Lewis asked Ross, referring to the extract.

"No," Ross said. "Under your tongue."

Later, Lewis asked Ross to "just pile me up and just send me everything you got, because I got to get back on this this week."

Lewis denies working with S.W.A.T.S.

Asked whether he had used the spray and the pills from S.W.A.T., Lewis declined to comment in the SI article. The deer antler extract contains IGF-1, which is on the NFL's list of banned substances. 

Lewis, 37, is expected to retire on Sunday.

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