Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

SportsPharm Pharmaceuticals Inc., one of the companies named in a lawsuit filed by former Trojan Armond Armstead against USC has filed a cross-complaint against the university on Monday, according to ATVN.

Armstead, a former defensive lineman for the Trojans, filed a lawsuit against the school in August 2012 and accuses team doctors of providing him with painkillers that resulted in him having a heart attack and subsequently hurt his chances to get drafted into the NFL. SportsPharm is allegedly responsible for supplying the drug in question to USC.

SportsPharm asks in the cross-complaint that any damages awarded to Armstead be divided among the defendants and that they be compensated by their co-defendants–the USC football team and team physician Dr. James Tibone–for attorney’s fees.

Armstead’s lawsuit alleges that Dr. Tibone and other USC doctors required Armstead to take a pain killer called Toradol without informing him of the potential side effects. According to his lawyers, Dr. Tibone supplied Toradol “without limitation” and “without his informed consent.”

Robert Bale, Armstead’s attorney, says that Toradol is to keep injured players available for action instead of aiding in recovery, while USC attorney Louis Pappas insists that Toradol is a safe drug. Bale also maintains that Armstead was given an ultimatium regarding Toradol: “If you don’t get this shot, you don’t play, and if you don’t play, you don’t get scouted, and if you’re not scouted, you don’t play in the NFL.”

Armstead, 22, suited up for USC from 2008 to 2010. He missed all of 2011 because of his heart condition, and was not chosen in the 2012 NFL Draft. He did however spend last year in the CFL, playing for the Toronto Argonauts. In January 2013, Armstead signed a new deal with the New England Patriots.

Sep 10, 2011; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Utes receiver Reggie Dunn (14) is pursued by Southern California Trojans defensive tackles DaJohn Harris (98) and Armond Armstead (94) on a 51-yard run in the third quarter at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC defeated Utah 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Former Trojan defensive lineman is finally getting his shot in the NFL, having signed with the New England Patriots on Wednesday, according to ESPNBoston.com.

Armstead spent 2012 playing in the Canadian Football league with the Toronto Argonauts and leading the team with six sacks. He ultimately earned All-Star recognition, and a second glance from the NFL, where he had previously gone undrafted.

The former Trojan played three years at Troy, starting 17 games and recording nearly 60 tackles. In 2011, Armstead was not medically cleared by USC to play, due to a heart condition, a result his family and lawyers alleged in their 2012 lawsuit was the result of being treated with a painkiller called Toradol. The family sued for unspecified damages, and Armstead unceremoniously left the Trojan program.

The 6-foot-5. 300-pound lineman visited the Patriots, the Philadephia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts before ultimately penning his name with New England. In signing Armstead, an NFL team will be getting the equivalent of a high draft pick from the Patriots in the coming months before the draft, in April.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Armond Armstead missed all of 2011 with an undisclosed injury, after a mysterious illness sidelined him in the spring. There was fall out with the injury, as it was evident that Armond’s treatment at USC affected the recruitment of his brother, Arik Armstead, a top recruit who will begin his college career for the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.

Today, according to a report from Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee, Armond Armstead claims that it was USC’s choice to have the defensive tackle take painkillers that led to a heart attack.

A former University of Southern California football player from Elk Grove filed a lawsuit today charging that team doctors repeatedly administered a painkiller to him that gave him a heart attack, and that after he recovered the school blocked his attempts to transfer and cost him a shot at the National Football League.
The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court today by Armond Armstead, now 22 and playing in Canada, who said the injections of the prescription pain-killing drug Toradol were forced on him by coaches and doctors without his knowledge.

Armstead is currently playing in the Canadian Football League, after he considered transferring to Notre Dame or Auburn for 2012, only to ultimately opt to try and take his game to the NFL.