Celtic’s Caldwell calls for supplement investigation

As Scotland and the footballing world continue to deal with the death of Phil O’Donnell, one prominent Scottish player is coming out in favor of further investigation. Today it was announced that O’Donnell indeed died of heart failure, similar to other recent cases like Antonio Puerta and Marc-Vivien Foe. Celtic and Scotland defender Gary Caldwell came out today in favor of investigations into the effects of food supplements and energy drinks on athletes.

Says Caldwell: “I have thought about it. You drink energy drinks, you take supplements and you do it to become a better player. But I think somebody has got to look into it and try to see if it does affect you.”

It’s an interesting thought. Personally, I think the solution lies with a more regular heart checkup for all players, regardless of their apparent health. But, there certainly are a lot more of these supplements going into footballers’ bodies than there used to be, and it might be worth a bit of investigation. Still, even if that is an aspect of the problem, clearly preventative care for footballers needs to improve. Kudos to Caldwell for turning the discussion in the direction of what to do next. Now that we’ve all paid our tributes (which will continue as each team has its first match since the incident), the time has come to let the family and friends mourn, and direct our pain into something useful, that might prevent this from happening again.

Category: Other News

Tags: Celtic, Food supplements, Gary Caldwell, Motherwell, Other News, Phil ODonnell, Scotland, Scottish Premier League, SPL

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