The best-known story of psychedelic use among professional athletes is the time in 1970 when the San Diego Padres's Doc Ellis pitched a no hitter on LSD. (See the excellent video below.) But it's still rare to hear professional athletes talk about how tripping has impacted their athletic performance. Recently though, National Football League players Kenny Stills and Aaron Rodgers have spoken up about the psychedelic experiences. Indeed, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Rodgers, a vocal advocate for the legalization of some psychedelics, talked at this week's Psychedelic Science 2023 conference about how his ayahuasca experiences made him a better player. From CNN:
"I guarantee you all these bums who want to come after me online about my experience and stuff, they've never tried it. They're the perfect people for it, we need to get these people to take it."
The four-time MVP said that he has been approached by athletes in the NFL and across other sports for guidance on taking psychedelics.
"The response from other people in the sports industry has been pretty incredible," said Rodgers.
"To see basketball players and baseball players and surfers, entertainers and my own teammates and colleagues across the league reach out and either share their story about their own medicine journey or ask to be a part of an upcoming one was pretty special."
