PBS高端访谈:美国缉毒局开始调查NFL运动员在比赛中使用的止痛剂

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: The National Football League has been hit hard by controversial headlines recently, but TV ratings on game day haven't suffered yet.

　　Yesterday, after the action finished on the field, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration launched surprise raids to see if several teams were improperly¹ using pain medication.

　　Jeffrey Brown has more.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: The Washington Post respond that DEA agents conducted searches of at least three teams, the San Francisco 49ers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the reigning³ champions, the Seattle Seahawks. Agents were looking into the use and possible abuse of painkilling⁴ drugs, an investigation⁵ tied to a lawsuit⁶ brought by former players.

　　Sally Jenkins helped break the story for The Post, and she joins me now.

　　Well, thanks for joining us.

　　So, first of all, what exactly were the agents looking for?

　　SALLY JENKINS, The Washington Post: Well, they were looking for instances of inconsistencies in paperwork, improper² paperwork, lack of paperwork.

　　For instance, under the Controlled Substances Act, a physician in California has to have the proper registration⁷ in New York to dispense⁸ prescription⁹ drugs if he comes here and attempts to treat a parent and hand them narcotic¹⁰ painkillers¹¹, which is the sort of thing that the DEA is looking into with the NFL.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: So they're — as I said, they're all tied to this class action lawsuit. What are the former players saying happened that led to this investigation?

　　SALLY JENKINS: Well, what triggered the investigation was a lawsuit by about 1,300 former NFL players, some of them very recently retired¹³, who allege¹⁴ in their lawsuit that the NFL has a pattern of prescription drug abuse, that doctors and trainers have prescribed medications in excessive amounts over excessive periods of time, that they have handed out medication without prescriptions¹⁵, unlabeled, those sorts of things.

　　There are stories — as one plaintiff attorney said, they have accused the NFL of handing out these narcotic painkillers like Halloween candy.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Now, they picked certain teams, three that we know of. Do we know why and do we know if it's limited to those teams or is this for the whole league?

　　SALLY JENKINS: The Washington Post's understanding, based on our reporting, is that it's — they're looking at the entire league. This is not restricted to the teams that were inspected yesterday.

　　We can add the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions to that list, so we know of five teams. We believe there's another team or two out there that may have been inspected or that are being looked at in this phase of the investigation, but we — we can't name those.

　　But the bottom line is that this is a piece or a step in a larger DEA investigation into prescription drug usage in the NFL.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: This part of it though was a real surprise to the teams? Do you know how they — how did they respond?

　　SALLY JENKINS: Well, I think it was intended as a surprise to the teams. Whether or not they got some sort of tip or had some sort of knowledge, I don't know.

　　But the DEA basically set out to pop quiz those teams and their medical staffs yesterday as they moved through stadiums and airports. The idea was to examine a group of teams that was actually traveling on a Sunday to look at their practices and their paperwork and see if they were in compliance¹⁶.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: You have covered this…

　　SALLY JENKINS: And, by the way…

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Yes, go ahead.

　　SALLY JENKINS: Yes, let me just interject that the New Orleans — DEA spokesperson down in New Orleans issued a statement this afternoon that the Cincinnati Bengals were looked at and appeared to be in compliance.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: You have covered the league a long time. Anybody who watches knows it's a real culture of violence and pain.

　　It's not a surprise that players are using these kind of drugs. And there's been a lot of issues of getting back on the field too early. Is it — is it — in that context, is all of this a surprise or is this — this is really focusing on the legality of what's done?

　　SALLY JENKINS: I don't think it's a surprise that NFL players use narcotic painkillers.

　　I don't think it's a surprise that there have been loose practices in the league. The DEA has looked at individual teams before yesterday. There was a case a couple of years ago with the San Diego Chargers where they looked into their prescription practices, the same with the New Orleans Saints.

　　But the DEA up to this point had not conducted a comprehensive investigation into the league-wide practices concerning painkillers. So that's what's new here. You know, the interesting question is, you know, NFL physicians are confronted with a real dilemma¹⁷.

　　What is the difference and the fine line between treating an injury and masking an injury? What is the fine line between, you know, administering painkillers in order to relieve pain and administering narcotic painkillers in order to enable an injured player to go back out on the field and reinjure himself further?

　　And the big question for the DEA that they're concerned about is, is the NFL culture of drug use and narcotic painkiller¹², prescription drug use creating addicts¹⁸? I think that's the question that the DEA is the most interested in.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: And very briefly¹⁹, if you would, what — is the NFL cooperating? What's their attitude?

　　SALLY JENKINS: Yes, the NFL issued a statement last night that their teams had cooperated with the DEA and that, to their knowledge, there were no irregularities that were found in the step that was conducted yesterday by the DEA.

　　The DEA obviously is not tipping its hand to what it really was after yesterday or the overall, you know, scope of what it's looking at or, you know, who it's looking at in particular. They're holding those cards pretty close to the vest.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Right.

　　Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post, thanks so much.

　　SALLY JENKINS: Thank you.

1 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

2 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

3 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

4 painkilling   

[医]止痛的

参考例句：

• Painkilling drugs were not enough to relieve her suffering. 止痛药不能缓解她的痛苦。 来自互联网
• The effect of the painkilling drug didn't wear off for several hours. 止痛药的药效好几个锺头之仍未消失。 来自互联网

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

8 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

9 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

10 narcotic   

n.麻醉药，镇静剂；adj.麻醉的，催眠的

参考例句：

• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。
• No medical worker is allowed to prescribe any narcotic drug for herself.医务人员不得为自己开处方使用麻醉药品。

11 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

12 painkiller   

n.止痛药

参考例句：

• I shall persuade him to take the painkiller.我将说服他把药吃下去。
• The painkiller only provides him a short respite from his pain.止痛药仅仅让他在疼痛中有短暂的疏解。

13 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

14 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

15 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

16 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

17 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

18 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

19 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。