Ex-Steeler Courson Dies

Crushed felling a tree on his Fayette County property

Friday, November 11, 2005
By Robert Dvorchak and Cindi Lash, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Decades removed from the roaring football arena in which he won two Super Bowl rings with the Steelers, Steve Courson lived in seclusion with his two beloved black Labrador retrievers, Rufus and Rachel, in the Fayette County mountains. He devoted his life to teaching kids about the perils of steroid use and other risky behavior.

Mr. Courson, 50, died yesterday in a tree-cutting accident outside his home in Farmington, about 12 miles east of Uniontown, apparently while trying to save one of the dogs, who was endangered when a gust of wind changed the direction in which the tree was falling.

"Those dogs were his pals," said Dr. Charles Yesalis, a Penn State University professor who became close friends with Mr. Courson and collaborated with him on a book about steroid abuse in sports. "Hearing the news was like a 500-pound weight hitting me in the stomach. It breaks my heart. He was one of the most caring, honest, ethical people I've met in my 59 years."

A neighbor along Herb Hollow Road in Henry Clay Township became curious when the growl of Mr. Courson's chainsaw fell silent at about 12:40 p.m. Mr. Courson was found pinned face-down by the tree with one of the dogs tangled under his legs.

The tree's weight was such that neither the neighbor nor the emergency crews who responded to a 911 call could move it without sawing the trunk into sections.

Mr. Courson was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m. of crushing injuries to his chest. The injured dog was taken to a humane facility for treatment.

The dead tree being cleared from his property was five feet in circumference and 44 feet tall.
"The theory is that the dog was with him, and the tree started to go in an unintended direction," said Dr. Phillip E. Reilly, the Fayette County coroner. "The dog was in the path. [Mr. Courson] was bent over and the tree came down and pinned him to the ground."

Many of those who responded to the emergency call knew Mr. Courson not just as a former Steeler but as a good neighbor who coached and counseled youngsters.

"Everyone is so broken up by this whole thing," Dr. Reilly said. "People knew him and his dogs. ...He treated these dogs like his children. People cared for him because he had a big thing for the young people, trying to get them straightened out."

When word of the fatal accident filtered to the Steelers practice facility on the South Side, the team issued this statement: "We will remember Steve for his many on-field contributions to our football club as well as for the caring person he was away from the game. Steve Courson will remain in our prayers and will be missed by everyone who knew him."

Funeral arrangements for Mr. Courson, who grew up in the Gettysburg area, were incomplete. His mother, Elizabeth, is in failing health; he has an adopted brother in Massachusetts.
His career as No. 77 with the Steelers lasted from 1977 to 1983. He also spent two seasons with Tampa Bay following a trade.

Mr. Courson was the first NFL player to speak on the record about steroid use in the NFL when he did a 1985 interview with Sports Illustrated. After his playing days were over, he was told by doctors he would not live without a heart transplant, but he made what he called a miraculous turn-around.

In his 1991 book "False Glory," the muscular guard, whom Steelers fans lauded as the Incredible Hulk, admitted that he began taking a derivative of the sex hormone testosterone while he was a freshman at the University of South Carolina. He continued taking performance-enhancing drugs throughout his NFL career, which he said contributed to a life-threatening condition that weakened his heart muscles.

"When they tell you that you need a new heart or you're going to die, you have time to reflect on the decisions you made in life. Steroids impacted my life in a negative way," Mr. Courson said in a recent interview.

Drug-free for the past 19 years, Mr. Courson recovered to full health by going on a diet and exercise program. He was a popular speaker at colleges, high schools and elementary schools, bluntly telling students that steroids work in building muscle but can cause harmful physical and psychological side effects.

He spoke on Oct. 25 to students at North Allegheny High School and did a similar engagement on Nov. 2 at Laurel Elementary School in New Castle.

"We live in a society that promotes bigger is better and winning at all costs. I know kids are tempted by the glory and the money, so the least I can do is tell them where the minefields are. I was duped into that minefield and almost paid for it with my life," he said. "Some things are more important than Super Bowl rings."

A physical trainer whose weight dropped from 330 pounds to a svelte 240 pounds, Mr. Courson testified earlier this year before a U.S. congressional committee looking to increase the penalties for steroid use by professional athletes. He also testified before a Senate panel in 1989 during the process in which steroid use was made a federal crime.

For five years in the 1990s, Mr. Courson worked as an assistant football coach at Trinity High School with former teammate Ted Peterson, who is now the athletic director at Upper St. Clair High School.

"We were rookies with the Steelers and went through some tough times together. I can't tell you what a loss this is. I've never been hit harder by anything in my life. He's going to be greatly missed," Mr. Peterson said.

"Here was a guy who suffered physically because of some choices he made. But he never, ever whined or complained. He chose to do the right thing. He had the courage to turn his life around and teach the lessons he learned to others so that they might avoid the same pitfalls," he added.
Dr. Yesalis, who was a pallbearer at the funeral of Mr. Courson's wife Cathy several years ago, said he spoke on the phone with his friend at 11 a.m. yesterday.

The two men had talked about heading out West on Harley-Davidson motorcycles next year, and Mr. Courson had begun looking into the purchase of a bike.

"He was black-balled by the NFL for speaking out about steroids. And the only thing that really stuck in his craw -- and you can quote me on this -- was that he was still very disappointed in his teammates for not talking about the truth about steroids," Dr. Yesalis said. "He told the truth all along. He was a man of honesty and integrity in a game that lacks it. I just lost one hell of a friend."

(Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1959. Cindi Lash can be reached at clash@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1973. Moustafa Ayad contributed to this report.)