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SPORTS Friday, August 2, 2019 East Oregonian A9 Ryan Leaf uses his story to help other former NFL players By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer Ryan Leaf spent most of his time in prison alone and angry until a military veteran persuaded the former No. 2 overall NFL draft pick to stop self-loathing long enough to help fellow inmates learn to read. Now the once-star college quarterback who is widely considered the biggest bust in league history is helping for- mer players adapt to retire- ment and hopefully cope far better than he did. Leaf’s personal life spi- raled out of control after his pro career ended and his addiction to painkillers led him to spend 32 months in prison after an arrest in 2012. His dramatic turnaround began with a challenge from his prison cellmate who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq. “He got on me one day about how I didn’t understand the value that I had, not only to the men in there but for when I got out and he confronted me on it,” Leaf told The Associ- ated Press. “He suggested we go down to the prison library and help prisoners who didn’t know how to read. Many times somebody tried to help me be constructive and I just pushed them away. I don’t know why in this moment I chose to go. It was begrudg- ingly. I still envision myself walking down the hallway complaining about it.” But Leaf, wearing his red prison jumpsuit, went any- way. He had no idea helping other men would benefit him. “Watching men in a place where you’re not supposed to show vulnerability be vulnerable and ask for help because they couldn’t read, I was blown away by it and it affected me,” he said. “I real- ized I was being of service to another human being for the first time in my life and I knew that was going to have to be the foundation of who I was when I got out or nothing was going to change.” So when league executive Tracy Perlman reached out to Leaf this spring with an offer to become an NFL Legends Community coordinator, his career came full circle. “The NFL Legends Com- munity is the epitome of ser- vice,” Leaf said. “This isn’t about promoting you any- AP Photo/Melissa Rawlins, File In this May 19, 2017, file photo, Ryan Leaf speaks on the set of NFL Live in Bristol, Conn. more. It’s about promoting something bigger than you. And that’s exactly what that young veteran and prison afforded me when I needed it most.” Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations and a five- time Pro Bowl cornerback from 1999-2003, and Perlman were instrumental in launch- ing the NFL Legends Com- munity in 2013. It helps for- mer players stay connected with their teams and offers assistance in a variety of ways — from making sure they get health checks to life after football. Leaf’s first exposure to the Legends came during the week leading up to the 2016 Super Bowl in San Francisco. Each year at the Super Bowl, the group hosts several events and welcomes former players to learn about the programs. “I didn’t consider myself a legend. I felt like a failure,” Leaf said. “So I was a little hesitant, but I went. I walked into the lounge with my wife and immediately I saw three of my former teammates. I saw Donnie Edwards and Chad Pennington, who were both Legends coordinators, and they came right up to me and put their arms around me and made it very clear that I was part of that group.” Leaf was later invited to AP Photo/Larry Beckner, File In this May 8, 2012, file photo, Ryan Leaf, center, sits in a Cascade County courtroom in Great Falls, Mont. speak to quarterbacks at the 2017 NFL combine. His group included Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Mitchell Trubisky, Nathan Peterman and Davis Webb. “When I left, I thought: ‘Wow, this is really great. I hope I get more of an oppor- tunity to work with the Leg- ends,’” he said. “Sure enough, this spring I got an email from Tracy (about) a coordinator position. What an honor, what a grateful blessing that turned out to be because now essen- tially what I was doing in the recovery world, helping oth- ers, I now get to do it at the level that I played. The NFL is really trying to step up by putting this program in place, and I’m really happy to be a part of it.” Perlman praised Leaf for being “transparent” and will- ing to talk about his mistakes. “He is a really good per- son and everything he went through made him who he is now and he came out on the other side,” said Perlman, the NFL’s senior vice president of football communications and marketing. “He really wants to help other people and the Legends Community was built specifically to serve play- ers. He’s there to help you. If telling his story helps or if just talking to you on the phone for five minutes, he’s willing to do it.” Leaf finished third in Heisman Trophy voting in 1997 and led Washington State to the Rose Bowl. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers after Peyton Man- ning went No. 1 to the Indi- anapolis Colts in 1998, but he was only 4-14 as a starter in three seasons. He was 0-3 with the Dallas Cowboys in 2001 and finished his four- year career with 14 touchdown passes and 36 interceptions. His arrest in 2012 for breaking into a home in Mon- tana to steal prescription drugs and violating his Texas probation led to prison. “I was an ego maniac with a self-esteem problem and that’s what most addicts are like,” Leaf said. “I was a drug addict long before I ever took a drug. I think it was just exacerbated by the fame and the fortune of it all. I was so scared of everybody that I worked so hard to try to be better than everybody else. It didn’t work out. And it’s a humbling thing when you finally have an understanding of who you are.” Leaf got a chance to do something long overdue on Oct. 1, 2017. He had a face-to- face conversation with Char- gers owner Alex Spanos. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell invited him to sit in a suite and watch the Chargers play in their third home game after moving from San Diego to Los Angeles. “I was super anxious,” Leaf said. “I was in a suite, so I wasn’t around hecklers who yell out: ‘Loser or bust.’ Don- nie Edwards was there guid- ing me through it and then unknown to me — and I don’t know if this was planned but — Mr. Spanos walked in to say hi to Mr. Goodell. I think he was pretty taken aback when he saw me and I didn’t know I would ever be afforded the opportunity to make amends to Mr. Spanos for my part in my time in San Diego. The opportunity pre- sented itself and I did exactly that. I made my amends to him. “I remember I looked over at Mr. Goodell after I was done and he was just really pleased with how I handled it. You always want to feel part of something and when you’re part of the Legends Commu- nity, you feel a part of some- thing. I do believe that rela- tionship (with Spanos) will again come around.” In July, Leaf was hired by ESPN to be a football analyst. He’ll pair with play-by-play announcer Clay Matvick and mostly call games on ESPN2 and ESPNU. Leaf worked for the Pac-12 Network last sea- son and has been co-hosting a show on SiriusXM’s Pac-12 channel. OSU: Smith leads Beavers in his second season Continued from Page A8 Jefferson rushed for 1,380 yards last season, a school record for a true freshman, with 12 touchdowns. He averaged 115 yards rushing to rank among the top run- ning backs in the nation, and was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. The team also returns Luton, who was awarded a sixth season of eligibil- ity after a career marred by injury. Luton passed for a team-high 1,660 yards and 10 touchdowns last season despite missing four games with a concussion and a high ankle sprain. In his time with the Bea- vers, the 6-foot-7 Luton has passed for 2,513 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’ll get competition in camp from Tristan Gebbia, a transfer from Nebraska who was the Beavers’ scout team quarterback last season. “I think the media loves the competition thing,” Luton said. “For good reason, it’s a better story than not a com- petition. And that’s fine. But I think, day in and day out, the guys that we’re compet- ing against, we’re friends, we like each other, we want the best for each other. We all want to be on the field, but there’s no heated competition between each person.” Oregon State’s defense is the biggest question mark. The Beavers defense did not hold a conference opponent to fewer than 500 yards last season and gave up an over- all average of 45.7 points and 536.8 yards per game. The defensive staff spent time at LSU in the offsea- son with Tigers defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. One key addition is Jor- dan Whittley, a 6-foot-2, 338-pound senior defensive lineman who has one year of eligibility remaining after transferring from Laney College. “Year 2, a whole lot of things feel better,” Smith said. “Watching these guys in the weight room. Having continuity on our staff, hav- ing 9, 10 guys coming back for their second year. Reit- erating some of the scheme we’re running but know- ing these players even bet- ter, the players themselves knowing the coaches better into Year 2. Just very opti- mistic of the progress that we’ve made so far, and I know we’ve still got work to do pushing into the season.” Photo courtesy of Eastern Oregon University EOU’s East Tracks 2017 team poses for a photo alongside the Snake River. SCOREBOARD BASEBALL EOU: Camping in Hells Canyon to ease the transition to college Continued from Page A8 other’s company.” Staff members encour- age students to try their hand at the new experi- ences offered at the camp. Gabriel Tritchka, another 2017 participant, noted that his prior camping experi- ence was “slim to none,” but guidance from Hatch and the other instructors allowed for an accessible first exposure to the wild. “Michael Hatch is an expert guru in everything outdoors, and helped to make everyone feel com- fortable,” Tritchka said in a press release. “The trip provided me the founda- tion for my college family.” Incoming freshmen who participate in the adventure will have early move-in access to EOU’s residence halls. They will be allowed to move in on the Saturday prior to the trip in preparation for the Week of Welcome, which commences after their return. The trip costs $125 per camper. Food, transpor- tation, and rental gear are included in the fee. Registration is ongo- ing, and space is limited. Sign-ups and questions can be directed to the OAP at outdoor@eou.edu, or by phone at 541-962-3621. AMERICAN LEAGUE East W L Pct GB New York 68 39 .636 — Tampa Bay 63 48 .568 7 Boston 59 51 .536 10½ Toronto 44 67 .396 26 Baltimore 36 72 .333 32½ Central W L Pct GB Minnesota 66 42 .611 — Cleveland 63 45 .583 3 Chicago 46 60 .434 19 Kansas City 40 70 .364 27 Detroit 32 72 .308 32 West W L Pct GB Houston 70 40 .636 — Oakland 62 48 .564 8 Los Angeles 56 54 .509 14 Texas 54 54 .500 15 Seattle 47 64 .423 23½ ——— Thursday’s Games Miami 5, Minnesota 4, 12 innings N.Y. Mets 4, Chicago White Sox 0 Oakland 5, Milwaukee 3 Toronto 11, Baltimore 2 Houston 7, Cleveland 1 Tampa Bay 9, Boston 4 Friday’s Games Boston (Rodriguez 13-4) at N.Y. Yankees (Paxton 5-6), 4:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Nova 6-9) at Phila- delphia (Vargas 6-5), 4:05 p.m. Toronto (TBD) at Baltimore (Brooks 2-4), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Pena 8-3) at Cleveland (Clevinger 5-2), 4:10 p.m. Detroit (Alexander 0-1) at Texas (Lynn 13-6), 5:05 p.m. Kansas City (Sparkman 3-7) at Minnesota (Perez 8-4), 5:10 p.m. Seattle (Kikuchi 4-7) at Houston (Miley 9-4), 5:10 p.m. Saturday’s Games Boston at N.Y. Yankees, 10:05 a.m., 1st game Miami at Tampa Bay, 3:10 p.m. Boston at N.Y. Yankees, 4:05 p.m., 2nd game Chicago White Sox at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Toronto at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Kansas City at Minnesota, 4:10 p.m. L.A. Angels at Cleveland, 4:10 p.m. Seattle at Houston, 4:10 p.m. Detroit at Texas, 5:05 p.m. St. Louis at Oakland, 6:07 p.m. NATIONAL LEAGUE East W L Pct GB Atlanta 64 45 .587 — Philadelphia 57 51 .528 6½ Washington 57 51 .528 6½ New York 53 55 .491 10½ Miami 42 65 .393 21 Central W L Pct GB St. Louis 58 50 .537 — Chicago 57 51 .528 1 Milwaukee 57 53 .518 2 Cincinnati 50 56 .472 7 Pittsburgh 47 61 .435 11 West W L Pct GB Los Angeles 71 39 .645 — San Francisco 55 54 .505 15½ Arizona 54 55 .495 16½ San Diego 50 57 .467 19½ Colorado 50 59 .459 20½ ——— Thursday’s Games Miami 5, Minnesota 4, 12 innings Philadelphia 10, San Francisco 2 N.Y. Mets 4, Chicago White Sox 0 Oakland 5, Milwaukee 3 St. Louis 8, Chicago Cubs 0 Friday’s Games Milwaukee (Davies 8-4) at Chicago Cubs (Quintana 8-7), 11:20 a.m. Chicago White Sox (Nova 6-9) at Phila- delphia (Vargas 6-5), 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Matz 6-6) at Pittsburgh (Wil- liams 3-4), 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati (Wood 0-0) at Atlanta (Gaus- man 3-6), 4:20 p.m. San Francisco (Anderson 3-3) at Colo- rado (Lambert 2-2), 5:40 p.m. Washington (Ross 0-3) at Arizona (Ray 9-7), 6:40 p.m. San Diego (Lauer 5-8) at L.A. Dodgers (May 0-0), 7:10 p.m. Saturday’s Games Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. Miami at Tampa Bay, 3:10 p.m. Chicago White Sox at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati at Atlanta, 4:20 p.m. San Francisco at Colorado, 5:10 p.m. Washington at Arizona, 5:10 p.m. St. Louis at Oakland, 6:07 p.m. San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 6:10 p.m. SOCCER MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER EASTERN Philadelphia Atlanta D.C. United New York City FC New York Montreal New England Toronto FC Orlando City Columbus Chicago Cincinnati WESTERN Los Angeles FC Seattle LA Galaxy W L T Pts GF GA 11 7 6 39 41 36 11 9 3 36 38 29 9 6 9 36 31 26 9 3 8 35 36 24 10 9 4 34 39 34 10 11 3 33 31 38 9 8 6 33 34 39 9 9 5 32 38 38 7 11 5 26 30 33 7 14 3 24 24 36 5 10 9 24 34 35 5 16 2 17 22 53 W L T Pts GF GA 15 3 4 49 59 23 11 6 5 38 33 28 12 9 1 37 30 31 San Jose 11 7 4 37 39 33 Minnesota United 10 7 5 35 38 30 FC Dallas 9 8 6 33 31 26 Portland 9 8 4 31 35 32 Real Salt Lake 9 9 4 31 30 30 Houston 9 10 3 30 32 35 Sporting Kansas City 6 9 7 25 33 39 Vancouver 4 11 9 21 23 41 Colorado 5 12 5 20 33 45 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Saturday, August 3 LA Galaxy at Atlanta, 2 p.m. Toronto FC at New York, 3 p.m. FC Dallas at Orlando City, 4:30 p.m. Los Angeles FC at New England, 4:30 p.m. Vancouver at Cincinnati, 5 p.m. Chicago at Houston, 6 p.m. Montreal at Colorado, 6 p.m. Columbus at San Jose, 7 p.m. New York City FC at Real Salt Lake, 7 p.m. Sunday, August 4 Portland at Minnesota United, 1 p.m. Philadelphia at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. Sporting Kansas City at Seattle, 7 p.m. Thursday, August 8 Houston at New York City FC, 4 p.m. Saturday, August 10 New England at Seattle, 1 p.m. Cincinnati at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. Orlando City at Toronto FC, 4:30 p.m. Minnesota United at FC Dallas, 5 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Sporting Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. Montreal at Chicago, 6 p.m. San Jose at Colorado, 6 p.m. Vancouver at Portland, 8 p.m. Sunday, August 11 New York City FC at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Houston at Philadelphia, 3 p.m. LA Galaxy at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. New York at Los Angeles FC, 7 p.m.
