Stephen Paul "Steve" Courson (October 1, 1955November 10, 2005) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL)'s

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Early years

Steve Courson grew up in

Longmeadow, Massachusetts Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The population was 15,853 at the 2020 census. History Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farm ...

and went to

Longmeadow High School Longmeadow High School (LHS) is an American public high school located in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Founded in 1956, it enrolls approximately 1,000 students.Get The Feeling: Masacksic 1988, Vol. 32. The school's mascot is a Lancer. It was ...

. He played on the

offense Offense or offence may refer to: Common meanings * Offense or crime, a violation of penal law * An insult, or negative feeling in response to a perceived insult * An attack, a proactive offensive engagement * Sin, an act that violates a known m ...

and

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

lines Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

and graduated in 1973 in

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

. His #71 was retired, and he is the only football player in

Gettysburg High School The Gettysburg Area School District is a mid-sized, rural, public school district which serves students in a area of Adams County, Pennsylvania. The district includes: Gettysburg Borough, as well as Cumberland, Freedom, Highland, Franklin and ...

history to receive such an honor. After graduating from Gettysburg, Courson went on to play on the offensive line at the University of South Carolina.

Football and steroids

During his freshman year at the University of South Carolina, Courson later stated that: He played for the Steelers from 1978–1983 and retired in 1985 after two seasons with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. In 1991, his book ''False Glory: The Steve Courson Story'', about his life in football when he used

steroids A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

, was published. He was one of the first American football players to admit to using steroids and harshly criticized them, making nearly 100 speeches a year to high school and college athletes about their dangers. Courson

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

ed but came to feel ashamed and guilty that he really didn't lift the weight – it was the power that steroids gave him. Courson was one of the first players to confess he had been using steroids during his playing career. He suffered from a heart condition which was believed to have been caused by his steroid use. After his career Courson was effectively blackballed by the NFL because of his outspoken stance on steroids. He had a spell as a

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

in the 1990s. Courson's wife Cathy died by suicide.

Death

Courson lived near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

for the rest of his life. In November 2005, he died in an accident at his home in Farmington, Pennsylvania. Courson had been cutting down a tree on his property, but a gust of wind changed the direction of its fall, and he moved into its path while attempting to prevent his dog from being struck. The dog, a black Labrador retriever, was found alive guarding Courson's body when the tree was removed. In the months before his death in 2005, Courson wrote a 5,000-word letter expressing disappointment that more players weren't open about their steroid use and saying the league's enormous popularity relies on a "myth" of its players as drug-free heroes. "I believe the NFL is a prisoner to their own public relations myth," Courson said in the letter, which was found on the computer of his western Pennsylvania home after his death. "The level of deception and exploitation that the NFL requires to do business still amazes me." Courson, who became one of professional sports' first steroids

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

s by detailing his use in a 1985 ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' interview, wrote the letter to a former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate he played with on Super Bowl-winning teams in 1978 and 1979. Courson is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Courson, Steve 1955 births 2005 deaths People from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania American football offensive linemen Pittsburgh Steelers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players South Carolina Gamecocks football players Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Adams County, Pennsylvania) Players of American football from Pennsylvania

Early years

Football and steroids

Death

See also

References

External links