Shortly after word broke that Ryan Leaf is facing burglary, theft and drug charges, the former No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft released a statement.
“I’ve made some mistakes, and have no excuses,” Leaf said in the statement. “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, who is on probation stemming from a guilty plea to felony drug charges in 2010, was arrested in his hometown of Great Falls, Montana, on Friday. Since that guilty plea, Leaf wrote a book and said he had turned his life around and beaten his addiction to prescription painkillers.
“I was just never comfortable in my own skin,” Leaf said on his book tour, via the Great Falls Tribune. “When I looked into the mirror, I just wasn’t comfortable with who I was. I was always worried about what other people thought about me, and now I didn’t have football to coat that. I couldn’t go out and excel in that and use that to win. And going to rehab, you just shed all that.”
Leaf played in 21 games in three seasons for the Chargers after they drafted him in 1998. He also played four games in 2001 for the Cowboys.