PITTSBURGH, March 24 (UPI) -- New Orleans Saints Coach Jim Haslett says he took steroids for a while when he played in the NFL, it was reported Thursday.
Haslett estimated that half the NFL players of the 1980s used steroids before they were banned by the league, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
The comments were made Wednesday in Kapalua, Hawaii, where the NFL meetings were held this week, the newspaper said.
Haslett, who was an all-star linebacker, said he tried steroids during one off-season after he was drafted by Buffalo in 1979 and then stopped using them.
Players "wanted an advantage, so you tried it; I tried it. I mean, I tried it, everybody tried it," Haslett was quoted as saying.
"I didn't think it was very good for you. I was hyper all the time. Got bloated, a fat face."
Haslett said steroid use began with Pittsburgh Steelers players in the 1970s.
"This is totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers in the '70s," said Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh team.
