Deer Antler Spray: Ray Lewis and Vijay Singh Linked to Banned Drug

Some major sports players are getting caught with that "deer in the headlights" look. To improve their performance, many have decided to take a drug known as deer antler spray.

A powdered supplement made from deer antlers, the drug comes in both a spray and pill form, containing small amounts of deer IGF-1, or insulin, and can result in enhanced muscle regeneration and growth. The deer used for the drugs are often harvested in New Zealand with the claim that antlers are the fastest growing substance on earth and can be substituted to improve physical performance.

Vijay Singh, who became world champion golfer in 2004, withdrew from the Phoenix Open shortly after admitting to his use of deer-antler spray. He confessed in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he was using the drug, and paid $9,000 last year for the spray and other products.

On Wednesday, Singh released the following statement before dropping out of the Phoenix Open: "While I have used deer antler spray, at no time was I aware that it may contain a substance that is banned under the PGA Tour Anti-Doping Policy."

And unfortunately, Singh wasn't the only one to go on the chopping block recently for being accused of using the hormone-banned drug. Baltimore Ravens star Ray Lewis has also taken some flack for allegedly ordering the spray and some deer-antler pills according to a Tuesday Sports Illustrated report. 

At this time, while there is no case to be made that the growth hormone found in deer works effectively on humans, a test completed in 2011 by the American business news channel (CNBC) gave 16 male weight-lifters the product and the other 16 a placebo. After the end of a 10 week period, the participants given the product were able to bench press more than when they had originally started and the placebo group had no change.