Players tell of being 'high' and 'loopy' during games

By Steve Miletich, Christine Willmsen and Mike Carter
Seattle Times staff reporters

	ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES 'We failed,' UW President Lee Huntsman, right, said yesterday, with interim Athletic Director Dick Thompson.
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Related stories Excerpts from the investigative panel's report

One player on the University of Washington softball team took narcotic pain medications and muscle relaxants two to three times a day during one season, played "high" in three games and was described by teammates as a "zombie" who appeared drunk, wobbly and glazed-eyed.

Another player told a trainer before a game that she had been given too many pills and was afraid she would get hit in the face by a ball. A trainer gave her a "focus pill" that made her feel "high and woozy." Yet she played, even though teammates thought she was too drugged.

Those scenes and others were laid out in dramatic detail yesterday in an 81-page report that summarized a six-month internal investigation into drug-dispensing practices on the UW softball team. The report, based on 42 interviews with players and staff, concluded players were overmedicated and laid blame on top officials including former Athletic Director Barbara Hedges, citing contradictions in their own statements to investigators.

Report on the UW women's softball program and alleged overmedication of players Introduction and background (815K PDF) Factual findings and analysis; allegations re: Dr. William Scheyer and assistant athletic director Craig Moriwaki (1M PDF) Coach Teresa Wilson's knowledge (1.3M PDF) What was known by assistant coach Scott Centala, Athletic Director Barbara Hedges, and senior associate athletic director Marie Tuite (1M PDF) The softball program environment; conclusion (697K PDF)

"We failed," outgoing UW President Lee Huntsman declared yesterday at an afternoon news conference on the UW campus. "This is deeply troubling and painful. We will do better."

Huntsman ordered the investigation after state medical authorities suspended the medical license of Dr. William Scheyer, the softball team's longtime doctor.

The reports found that players commonly referred to Scheyer as "Dr. Feel Good" or the "Candy Man" because he gave them narcotics so they could play while injured or simply to get rid of common headaches, according to the report.

Former softball coach Teresa Wilson, who was ousted in December, favored Scheyer, a private physician in Kirkland, over UW doctors and successfully fought efforts to fire him even when others warned that he was endangering the health of her players, the report said.

"Several players stated that Wilson told players to go and see Dr. Scheyer and get whatever they needed from him," the report said.

Wilson knew or should have known what was going on, the four-member investigative panel concluded, because drugs were routinely handed out everywhere from the team dugout to out-of-town dinners.

Failed to grasp the gravity

When concerns about Scheyer's practices reached Hedges and senior associate athletic director Marie Tuite, the report said, the officials failed to grasp the gravity of the problems and allowed him to remain part of the team.

During one meeting with UW doctors, Hedges was shown an X-ray of a deteriorating hip to illustrate the dangers of prescribing corticosteroids to players for routine injuries.

"One doctor stated that, in the meeting, Hedges took the position that she was not a doctor and that she saw no reason to question Dr. Scheyer," the report said.

One witness, who wasn't identified, told the panel she believed Scheyer should be replaced with UW doctors, but that Hedges overruled her recommendation.

"In sum, the evidence reveals that it is likely that, if Hedges did not know, she should have known that there were credible concerns about the quality of medical care that Dr. Scheyer ... provided to UW athletes," the panel found.

	ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES UW President Lee Huntsman addresses the media yesterday on the results of a six-month internal investigation into drug-dispensing practices on the UW softball team.

Hedges and Tuite also had been warned by others about the reckless actions of team trainer Craig Moriwaki, who is portrayed in the report as regularly supplying excessive amounts of prescription drugs to softball players, sometimes without a doctor's order. Moriwaki, who resigned in April 2002, could not be reached for comment.

Disputing conclusions

Hedges, who retired in January amid the drug scandal and gambling activities involving fired football coach Rick Neuheisel, disputed the report's conclusions in a written statement issued by university officials yesterday.

"Despite the claims of some individuals that they verbally advised me that they were concerned about the activities of Dr. Scheyer and Craig Moriwaki, and despite the conclusions reached by the drafters of this report, I can state unequivocally and honestly that I did not know that our student-athletes were subjected to questionable or unacceptable medical practices," Hedges said.

Hedges said she would have "taken every measure at my disposal to end these troubling practices" if she had known about them.

Tuite, in a written statement last night, said, "The first time I learned of any allegations that student-athletes were given prescription drugs improperly came after the State Pharmacy Board began its investigation of Dr. Scheyer in 2003. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect. In particular, there are references to information regarding this case that I believe could be contradictory and not substantiated."

UW officials said Tuite will receive a letter of reprimand but keep her job. They also said a reprimand will be issued to Scott Centala, Wilson's former assistant and now co-coach of the softball team, because he knew or should have known that players were taking too many drugs.

Panel members The panel that investigated drug problems in the UW softball program: Kevin Rainge, University Complaint Investigation and Resolution Office Mary Hebert, associate professor, School of Pharmacy Robert Aronson, faculty athletics representative, law professor Darryl Wareham, lead pharmacist, Harborview Medical Center

Scheyer's attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., said in a written statement that his client provided medical care to student athletes in "full view and with full knowledge" of university officials.

"Contrary to the negative image portrayed in this report, the athletes we interviewed paint a very different picture of Dr. Scheyer, portraying him as a caring and dedicated doctor," Vance said.

Scheyer, 76, has challenged the state's emergency suspension of his medical license and awaits a hearing. His license was lifted in October by the state Medical Quality Assurance Commission after investigators concluded he improperly prescribed and dispensed large quantities of narcotics, tranquilizers and other drugs to UW softball players.

Scheyer worked with various UW athletic programs, including the football and basketball teams, from 1986 to 1999, when UW doctors began treating athletes. He remained as the softball team's doctor, then as a volunteer until he was removed by Hedges shortly before his license was suspended.

Federal investigation

Scheyer, Moriwaki and pharmacist Edward Matsukawa — who filled dozens of prescriptions for the doctor and trainer — remain the targets of a federal criminal investigation being conducted by the Washington State Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a federal law-enforcement source.

Wilson, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, told the panel during its investigation that she wasn't aware of Scheyer and Moriwaki's activities. She has been reassigned to other duties in the UW athletic department until her contract expires in June.

But the report found that medications were given to players by Scheyer and Moriwaki on the field and in locker rooms, airplanes, hotel rooms, restaurants, buses and training rooms.

Several players witnessed or were given narcotic pain medications and muscle relaxants before practice or competition, according to the report.

In one instance, the report said, Scheyer gave a student two white pills on an airplane and two more white pills in an envelope, which were later identified as Vicoprofen, a narcotic painkiller. The athlete was so "wiped out" from the medication that she couldn't pick up her bag.

Another student who feared flying said she was repeatedly given muscle relaxants by Moriwaki. Other players recall the student having slurred speech, droopy eyes and giggling.

The player who was described as a zombie was "high, giggly, loopy" and "laughing on the dugout floor" during games after taking high doses of muscle relaxants and pain medication for her back, her teammates told the panel.

Other players recalled she "was on the ground, laughing, doing the backstroke."

One player blacked out in 2002, the report said, not remembering what happened throughout an entire day after taking medications from Moriwaki on an Oklahoma trip. That same player fell off the bus into Wilson's arms, and while eating at a restaurant did a "face plant" in her soup. The student didn't know where she was when she awoke in the morning.

Pills in the dugout

Players told the panel that Scheyer passed out pills to them in the dugout just before games. Some students were prescribed narcotic pain medication to take before and after games for two years.

In one case, a student got four to six pills per game during the softball season, including Vicodin, Tylenol with Codeine No. 3 and Percocet.

Some players felt pressured by Moriwaki to take medication. He reportedly gave two softball players the stimulant Ritalin before games without either player knowing what drug they were taking.

Players felt obligated to play, feeling pressure to perform for Wilson. "She (Wilson) screws with us. They ignore the fact that girls are so hurt," one athlete told the panel.

As early as 1997, the panel found, UW doctor John O'Kane became concerned about inappropriate medications given to athletes by Scheyer and discussed it with Dennis Sealey, a trainer, and Fredrick Matsen, another doctor.

O'Kane, an orthopedic surgeon and the director of the UW's Sports Medicine Program, told Hedges of concerns about Scheyer's use of powerful and possibly dangerous corticosteroids (a type of anti-inflammatory).

In a statement to the panel in February, O'Kane recalled the meeting, in which Hedges was told about the dangers of corticosteroid abuse. Hedges was shown the X-ray of the serious bone damage that can be caused by the improper use of the drugs.

"(Hedges) was told at the meeting it was dangerous and a problem that (Scheyer) gave athletes too many steroids," a panel member wrote. His notes indicate that the meeting apparently took place in 1997 or 1998, although O'Kane could not recall the date.

Hedges told a panel member that nobody complained to her during that time period about Scheyer's competence.

O'Kane also said he spoke to Tuite, the associate athletic director, as many as 15 times about Scheyer. His concerns involved Scheyer's failure to keep records and the overmedication of players, according to the notes.

Tuite told investigators that she never heard concerns that Scheyer overprescribed pills or corticosteroids.

O'Kane told the panel that Hedges' "underlying administrative approach is to put the coaches' opinion first and that is why Scheyer was kept so long."

In 2000-01, O'Kane recalled, Wilson continued to send all players to Scheyer even after Hedges told her to stop.

O'Kane received several complaints from employees about how Moriwaki and Scheyer were handling the medical care of athletes. Kathy Thompson, a former trainer for the softball team, told O'Kane that Scheyer was "dangerous," according to notes from an investigator.

Sealey, now a private trainer in Kirkland, told the panel, "Dr. Scheyer always had a pill for everything."

Sealey said he planned to fire Moriwaki, but Wilson told Hedges she'd quit if the softball team didn't get to keep him as trainer.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com

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