By now, we all know the story of Leaf. He was once the can't-miss quarterbacking prospect out of Washington State who was held in the same lofty regard that future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning was when they both entered the league in the same draft class.
Manning went No. 1, and Leaf went No. 2. That was the closest they've come to being the player since then, though, as Manning went on to become one of the game's all-time greats, while Leaf has gone on to be someone who was just arrested for the second time in four days.
Leaf has been down this street before. He's been behind bars before, and his addiction to painkillers has been well-chronicled. That addiction led Leaf to a rehab center in Canada a few years back.
The realization that Leaf needed rehab was his own. While coaching at West Texas A&M, Leaf was approached by a player in search of pills.
"It was a terrible feeling so I resigned from my job, and my brother and my father came down and found a [rehab facility]," Leaf told the Billings Gazette in 2009. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm supposed to be their mentor and help them. I felt so ugly."
He was then arrested again immediately upon his return to America, once again for drug and burglary chargers.
Now, he's been arrested twice in four days, with both arrests stemming from burglary and drug incidents. It's apparent that Leaf can no longer help himself. It's time for someone else to step in. And while Leaf may have a fairly substantial jail sentence awaiting him, these latest setbacks and allegations may mean that the help Leaf needs can't be found inside prison walls.
Friday's arrest could be looked at as a relapse. Monday's arrest, however, sounds like a cry for help. How else do you explain two arrests in less than a week for essentially the same exact reason?
His addiction looks to have a stronger grip on his life than ever before. Sitting in a jail cell will not cure those problems. Addiction is a cross Leaf will have to bear for the rest of his life, but if that's to be an extended period of time, there are better ways to help him along to health than making him serve time.
Leaf is a danger to himself. And no matter how much of a bust he was in the NFL, and no matter how immature he acted back then, that does not mean Leaf doesn't deserve the treatment he so desperately needs.
Ryan Leaf may very well find himself in jail somewhere very soon. If that's what a judge feels is best, then so be it — these allegations are pretty damning. Hopefully for Leaf, that same judge will see a man who has not only broken the law, but is a broken man himself.
There are some things that prison can't fix, and Ryan Leaf's addiction may be one of them.
