Ex-NFL quarterback, Ryan Leaf, has been arrested for domestic battery.
Leaf, an ESPN analyst, is infamous for being the biggest bust in NFL draft history, chosen No. 2 overall by the San Diego Chargers in 1998, when he was viewed the equal of another college quarterback, Peyton Manning. Manning went on to have a stellar career and Leaf was a washout.
Leaf, 44, was apprehended in Palm Desert, Calif., on Friday and booked in at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, according to Sports Illustrated.
No further details have been revealed but it is reported that Leaf was released later that evening on $5,000 bail and will be attending a court hearing in September.
Leaf played in college at Washington State. After three years in the NFL with no success, his personal and professional life fell apart.
He developed an addiction to drugs and was arrested several times for crimes ranging from burglary to drug possession, according to WBUR. It was during his time in prison that Leaf decided to clean up his life and went on to establish a foundation for people unable to afford treatment for substance abuse and mental health.
Coincidently, his turning point came several years ago when talking to a cellmate who had been arrested for domestic battery.
"I was there because of what I did, and no one else," Leaf said at the time, referencing his time behind bars.
"And I was forced to see it in a lot of the people I was surrounded by. People who could not hold themselves accountable," he continued.
"I had a roommate once who simply kept telling me over and over that he wouldn’t be in there if it weren’t for the woman that called the cops on him. And I asked him why she called the cops. And he said, 'Well, I beat her up.' And I said,'Well, maybe that’s the reason why the cops were called. Because you were assaulting her.'"
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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