Trouble Finds Former NFL Quarterback, Ryan Leaf, Once Again

Published: 31st Mar 12 10:50 am
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by Marian Hinton
Texas Sports Blogger
Trouble Finds Former NFL Quarterback, Ryan Leaf, Once Again
Photo Courtesy of : http://blogs.suntimes.com

Former Washington State standout and ex-San Diego Charger, Ryan Leaf, seems to have found trouble once again.

This time, while at his Montana home, the former NFL quarterback, was arrested on felony charges of burlary and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, but was freed on $76,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on Monday.

Leaf just can’t seem to stay away from trouble.

After a promising college career in which he led the Cougars to their first Rose Bowl in over 60 years, Leaf was drafted as the No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers where he spent a couple of years before eventually landing with the Dallas Cowboys for a brief and unsuccessful four-game stint.

He retired from football at the age of 26, and is widely regarded as the biggest bust in NFL history.

Since then, things have only gotten worse for the former quarterback.

In 2008, while working as a quarterbacks coach at Div. II West Texas A&M, Leaf was accused of breaking into one of his player’s homes. The ensuing investigation showed that he also had a serious problem with pharmaceutical drugs, having obtained over 1,00o pills from pharmacies in less than a year. After resigning from the coaching position, he was indicted the following year on 8 counts of felony drug charges. The former quarterback was fined $20,000 and given ten years probation.

Last year, he had surgery to remove a benign tumor in his brain, and endured radiation treatments and months of therapy.

After his most recent incident, Leaf issued the following statement:

“I’ve made some mistakes, and have no excuses. I am using the tools I’ve learned to move forward rather than backwards, and will be open to talking about the details in the days to come. I am confident that there will be further understanding when the facts are revealed, and feel very blessed for all of the support, especially from my friends and family.”

Leaf’s story is a sad one filled with disappointment. For his sake, I really hope he can figure out a way to turn it all around. Otherwise, he will find himself in a long line of former athletes whose lives are overshadowed by their inabilities to free themselves of their inner demons.

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