Former NFL running back Jamal Lewis says he is a longtime patient of Dr. Anthony Galea, but denies that the Canadian doctor ever injected him with HGH or illegal banned substances.

From ESPN.com:

Lewis, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2003, is adamant that he was never injected with HGH or any illegal or banned substances. He and other athletes treated by Galea don’t face legal issues as a result of the treatments, as federal authorities have been careful to describe them as witnesses and not subjects in their on-going investigation. Lewis and his attorney, Jerry Froelich, declined to say whether he has spoken with federal investigators or NFL officials.

“It is about being a superb athlete that is very in tune with your body, knowing the right people to go to and find,” Lewis said. “He is one out of how many other doctors that I have seen. I am just more in tune with my body. No steroids, no HGH, no off-brand chemicals in my body, none of that. I am just pure hard work. I am going to out-work you. That is it. At same time, I want to be able to stay fresh. I want to make sure my muscles, my joints and everything is in tune ready to go.”

Of the charges facing Galea: “I just think it was a bad deal, bad rap they were trying to give him. He’s a great guy. Good person. Humble person. Just would never do anything to hurt a person, period.”

Something interesting that Lewis said in the article is that he sought out Galea’s opinion because he, “never really trusted team doctors or the team trainers” because they didn’t have his best interest in mind. Athletes seek second opinions all the time when it comes to injuries, but I wonder if many players share the same feelings as Lewis about not having complete trust in team doctors. If that’s the case, then it’s something the NFL should look into because players have to feel as though they can trust team doctors.

When Galea’s name comes up, I always ask the same questions: Did the players know that Galea was an in for performance-enhancing substances and that’s why they sought him out, or were they completely oblivious to his connections with substances? I would have to imagine that there are players in the league who didn’t ask questions when the doc’s name came up. They probably heard that he can heal injuries fast and that’s all some players needed to seek his advice.

Hear no evil – see no evil.

One thing is for sure: players trusted him. As Lewis notes in the article, he recommended Galea to other players around the league that had chronic problems with knees, ankles, joints – you name it.

But again, was that because players knew Galea had a “cocktail” that could heal them faster or did they really believe he was one of the best doctors outside of the league?