The former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf, who has battled an addiction to prescription drugs but who had appeared to right his life recently, was arrested Friday in his hometown in Montana, Great Falls, on burglary and drug possession charges, the police said. He later released a 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, the No. 2 pick in the 1998 draft, had surgery last June to remove a benign brain tumor. He had written a book about his career at Washington State and was promoting it.
The Associated Press:
Friday’s arrest also raises the question of whether the 10-year probation plea agreement he negotiated with Texas prosecutors stemming from drug and burglary charges in 2009 will be revoked. In 2008, when Leaf was a quarterbacks coach for Division II West Texas A&M, he was accused of burglarizing a player’s home. An investigation turned up that Leaf had obtained nearly 1,000 pain pills from area pharmacies in an eight-month span.Jon Kasper, a former high school teammate of Leaf’s, said in The Great Falls Tribune:
“I want Ryan Leaf to be happy and at peace. I was really proud to see how he has done on the book tour. I read his book and thought it was great and I was happy to see him doing a lot of media interviews.
“I’ve been sitting here for an hour, and I’m sick for him. Addiction is so powerful and I don’t think people that haven’t dealt with that understand that. People deal with it all their lives and have relapses.”
