Former New York Jets quarterback Ray Lucas never let the word can't into his vocabulary. He overcame questions about his size and skills to emerge as the starting quarterback at Rutgers University and went on to play seven seasons in the NFL, including key roles on the New England Patriots and New York Jets under head coach Bill Parcells. Lucas's career came to a sudden end at age 30, when a neck injury caused him to collapse on the sideline during training camp. Lucas' transition to life after football appeared to be a successthe outspoken New Jersey native soon landed on SNY and the Rutgers football telecasts as an announcer. Yet Lucas dealt with constant pain on a daily basis. The NFL's doctors just increased the dosage of painkillers. Surgery, they said, was not an option. Soon Lucas was without a full-time job, his NFL insurance coverage had ended, and his tolerance for medication had grown to the point where he was paying thousands of dollars each month for painkillers.

He reached out to the NFL and NFLPAto no avail. The players association was in a fundraising stage and could not be bothered. Depressed and in constant pain, Lucas planned his own suicide. He would drive to the George Washington Bridge and take a sharp right into the Hudson River. Just days before he planned to take his life, Lucas was put in touch with Pain Alternatives, Solutions and Treatments (PAST), a group of New Jersey doctors who agreed to perform neck surgery on Lucas free of charge. Since then, Lucas has had two surgeries on his neck and spent time in a drug rehabilitation facility in Florida. He has been drug-free since early 2011 and recently won an Emmy for his work covering the Jets for SNY. In Under Pressure , Lucas provides fans with a timely, uncensored look at pro football's play-at-all costs culture.

He shares howin a league without guaranteed contracts and careers that average just a few seasons longplayers in the training room are perceived to lack the toughness necessary to succeed on the field. This prevailing attitude leads to widespread abuse of painkillers and leaves many former players unable to lead a normal life once their playing career ends.