Does the NFL Have a Dipping Problem?

VIDEO: Will Freeman’s 10 – point make a difference? Find out watch the video below..

The NFL’s “silent plague”

During the Vikings’ telecast on Sunday, it was reported that running back Adrian Peterson was ill from swallowing his chewing tobacco. Peterson denied the story and said what really made him ill was some whack seafood.

“I’ve been dipping for the past 10 years,” Peterson told the media after the game. “Swallowing dip? My body’s immune to it. That doesn’t affect me at all.”

Wait…hold on…what? Adrian Peterson has been using dip for a decade? This got me wondering: How much is dip used in the NFL?

The answer: a helluva lot. A whole helluva lot.

The NFL is at an interesting crossroads now when it comes to dip. I asked the league for comment on the apparent prevalence of dipping, and in response received a statement explaining that it is against league policy to appear in ads for tobacco products or to use any tobacco product “in the playing field area or while being interviewed on television,” which would seem to mean the sideline dipping is against the rules.

Beyond that, it appears the league has no interest in curbing the use of something that potentially increases cancer risk.

We’ll see how long that lasts.

By Mike Freeman, NFL National Lead Writer

Oct 28, 2015