"Marcus Allen knew, and tried to help. So did Howie Long. But many of Todd Marinovich's teammates on the Los Angeles Raiders of the early 1990s had no idea their young quarterback was using drugs. Marinovich had come to the Raiders from USC, where he had guided the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory as a freshman. By that time, he had accumulated two nicknames:"
"Robo Quarterback, after the legendarily demanding training regimen instilled by his father, former Raiders player and assistant coach Marv Marinovich, intended to foster excellence in athletes. The other nickname was far more unflattering: Marijuana-vich, for his pot-smoking, which became a taunt from opposing fans in high school. When Marinovich reached the NFL, it wasn't just marijuana he was abusing. I couldn't lift my head after another bender with ecstasy, cocaine, and liquor,"
"My body felt like the Tin Man. Who got him up in time for practice that day? It was a bug-eyed Marcus Allen who impatiently examined his watch, then returned to his idling red-hot Lamborghini. For a while, the rising star's drug problem was a well-kept secret. Until it wasn't, when a third unsuccessful urine test the next season, in 1992, landed Marinovich off the team."
Todd Marinovich arrived at the Los Angeles Raiders after leading USC to a Rose Bowl as a freshman. He carried nicknames Robo Quarterback for his father's extreme training and Marijuana-vich for his early pot use. Marinovich escalated to ecstasy, cocaine, and liquor in the NFL; teammates Marcus Allen and Howie Long noticed and tried to help. A third failed urine test in 1992 resulted in his release from the Raiders. He briefly revived his career in the Arena Football League but then spiraled into decades of heavier drug use including heroin, crack, and meth, with consequent legal problems.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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