Pittsburgh ? Steve Courson, the former offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers who developed a heart problem after becoming one of the first NFL players to acknowledge using steroids, was killed Thursday when a tree he was cutting fell on him.

Courson, 50, was using a chain saw to cut down a dead 44-foot tall tree with a circumference of 5 feet when it fell on him, according to state police. The accident happened around 1 p.m. at his home in Henry Clay Township, Fayette County.

Courson made the Steelers in 1978 as a free-agent guard from South Carolina.