Interesting; thanks for posting this. I haven’t heard much about Dave Redding, so I googled him. Here’s an interesting excerpt I found from an old article:
“Ephedra’s not a bad deal. We turned it into a bad deal because we take too much of it,” San Diego Chargers strength coach Dave Redding said. “A responsible amount of ephedra is OK, I really believe that.”
And so goes the latest debate on the role of stimulants and other supplements in the NFL. Conflicting messages and rule changes leave many players confused over what they should or shouldn’t take, yet many feel that they need to be taking something - just to keep up with everyone else.
“The majority of the league uses supplements in one form or another,” New York Jets centre Kevin Mawae said.
And sometimes they come from the team. Redding, who followed coach Marty Schottenheimer to San Diego from Washington, made supplements readily available last year in his only season with the Redskins. Defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson grew so skeptical of Redding’s products that he took some home to Ohio for his own doctor to examine.
“A lot of that stuff had some mixes and stuff that guys shouldn’t be taking, and No. 1 was ephedra,” Wilkinson said. "I was telling Doc, ‘he’s got guys taking pills with this mess and all these protein shakes and other mess. Your liver and kidneys can only take so much.’
“It was unrealistic. We’re not training to be ultimate fighters or some type of sumo wrestler. We’re training just for football.”
Redding defended his methods. Although he said he stopped offering ephedra products to players when the NFL announced its ban, he’s not convinced the league did the right thing.
“They’ve haven’t solved the problem,” Redding said. “They’ve just created another problem - because these guys will find something else.”
“These guys are under a lot of pressure,” Redding said. “It’s a pressure-cooker every day, and sometimes they feel like they need to do a little extra.”
Not really all that related, but funny nonetheless.