First in a three-part series

Prescription painkiller abuse is one of the dirty little secrets of college and professional sports.

It doesn't get the attention of muscle-building steroids, but tiny tablets like Lortab or Vicodin keep players in the game, especially those nursing chronic injuries. But pill popping can lead to dependency, crime, illicit drugs and death.

"It's a major problem," says Marcus Amos, who speaks at colleges and sports campuses about painkiller abuse through his Prevention Education for Athletes program. "But it's like this potential addiction wants to be hidden."

A string of local college athletes have become hooked on prescription pain medication dating back to the 1980s. Some moved to cheaper street drugs like heroin. They begged, borrowed and stole to feed their habits. They washed out of sports and school. They ruined relationships. They landed in jail. At least two died.

"There's no doubt it's a problem," said former Brigham Young University athletic director Val Hale. "It's something that people don't want to talk about, but it's certainly there."

Painkiller abuse is prevalent in pro sports. For some athletes, pain pills are as essential to getting through a season as working out.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, the NFL's all-time leading passer, is perhaps the best known sports figure to admit a problem. In 1996, he spent 45 days in rehab for addiction to Vicodin.

Administrators, team doctors, coaches and athletic trainers don't perceive prescription drug abuse as widespread in college athletics. But the issue hasn't received much study. University of Utah team doctor Liz Joy said she does not recall seeing prevalence figures for athletes' abuse of prescription narcotics.

"It is the dark side," said longtime U. sports psychologist Keith Henschen.

The NCAA does conduct a periodic survey of drug use among college athletes in a variety of sports, the last one in 2005. The extensive questionnaire asks about anabolic steroids, ephedrine, nutritional supplements, tobacco, alcohol, ecstacy, amphetamines, marijuana, hallucinogens and cocaine.

Everything but prescription narcotics.

"We don't have a targeted effort looking at that issue," said Mary Wilfert, NCAA associate director of education services. "We don't identify it as a category. We don't ban analgesic narcotics, so we haven't focused on that for student-athletes."

After being interviewed about pain pill use and abuse in collegiate sports, Wilfert said it would be good to consider adding questions about it to the drug survey.

'An absolute problem'