It’s a slow news day. We don’t have any NFC West retros written. And someone went crazy for the second time in a span of four days. Let’s blog about it, shall we?Unfortunately, we all remember Ryan Leaf. This weekend, Leaf returned to the realm of Party Rockin’ with a bang—two bangs, actually—and subsequently found himself behind bars.
Not exactly a Nolte...
Montana police say they arrested Leaf in Great Falls on Friday after they found stolen oxycodone in his bag. He paid a $76,000 bond, then police say he burglarized another home just three days later on Monday morning. Well, what do you expect? The guy just took a huge hit in his pocket book.
The consummate letdown, Leaf has had a well-documented battle with substance abuse since he left the NFL in 2002. Leaf was selected by the Chargers with the second overall pick in the 1998 Draft and was released just three seasons later.
He became an assistant coach for West Texas A&M in 2006, which lasted about as long as his NFL career. He left the school in ‘08 after a bizarre incident in which he asked for pills from one of the players. In ‘09 he was accused of burglarizing one of his former player’s homes while he was still a coach, and was subsequently placed on 10 years of probation in a plea agreement.
Last I remember, Leaf was on Jim Rome’s radio show in October of last year. His first book was about to come out and he had been out of rehab for a few years. Leaf spoke at length about when he found out he had a brain tumor removed in 2011. It was really interesting to hear him talk about his recovery and how he didn’t take pain-meds because of his addiction.
It truly is a shame to see such a sordid fall, if the details are accurate. But I’ll be damned if the guy doesn’t know how to go down with a splash. If only he had the same dedication toward football as he does for breaking and entering.
Chris Dorsey
Nate Raby
Joseph Kyle Schmidt
Ben Van Iten
