News

Former quarterback Dan Pastorini sued the Houston Oilers and owner Bud Adams Thursday for civil fraud, accusing them of lying about medical treatments he said kept him playing but caused long-term health impairments.

While the suit was being filed, Pastorini was interviewing Oilers players as part of his job as a sports commentator for KHTV-TV, Channel 39.

During his Houston career, the suit said, Pastorini was injected with "drugs and/or steroids and/or other substances" many times.

The suit said the Oilers encouraged him to take the injections and administered them with the intent of prolonging his career.

"Houston Oilers did so without care or regard to the personal safety of (Pastorini), or the long-term health effects of such medical treatment or lack of medical treatment,"the suit said.

The suit, filed in state district court by attorney Jimmy , does not specify Pastorini's alleged health problems and pain, but said, "It is believed that plaintiff's physical condition is degenerative and will only get worse."

Pastorini, 46, alleged the team knew or should have known that the drugs would severely shorten his life expectancy and cause long-term permanent disability. Instead, the suit said, the Oilers "actively and affirmatively concealed" that information, telling him there were no adverse effects.

"The Houston Oilers knew (the assurances) to be false, or should have known them to be false," the suit said. The cover-up, the suit said, continued after he had retired from football.

The team's motive, Pastorini's suit said, was to have him "continuing to participate in every game, and continuing to go forward regardless of his injury or condition."

Pastorini seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages.

"We haven't seen the lawsuit and have no comment," Oilers general counsel Steve Underwood said.

The Oilers drafted Pastorini in 1971 and traded him to Oakland in 1980. His NFL career ended in 1982.

He later piloted racing boats.