QBs Drug-Related Collapse Changes Football
Todd Marinovich was a quarterback for the Los Angeles Raiders, drafted in 1991. However, his drug addiction led to medical complications that stopped his career before it could get started. His experience is highlighted in a new documentary on ESPN called The Marinovich Project. Some say that his experience is most significant because of the changes that came about in the NFL draft as a result.
Marinovich has documented drug abuse issues at his alma mater, USC, as well as a cocaine possessions arrest and vocal arguments with his former coach – all this added up to an early exit from the NFL. Two seasons and three failed drug tests into his career, it abruptly came to an end.
The changes to the NFL draft, interestingly, have nothing to do with drug charges specifically, but with character. It is theorized that quarterbacks, especially, have the responsibility to their team to display positive moral choices since they are often in the spotlight and characterized as the leaders of the team. There is also the media issue – no team wants to deal with the negative publicity that comes with the drug bust of one of their players.
No official changes have taken place as of yet, but there is often a great deal of debate about a given player’s position in the draft if he has a history of drug abuse or possession charges or other issues. Some players have experienced this new caution in the draft in recent years and there is discussion the indicates it could continue.
Good Decision or Too Extreme?
Some believe that the decision is too judgmental, that choosing not to draft a player who is clearly athletically capable based on past mistakes isn’t fair – to the player, to the team, or to the game. Others believe that there are too many good players in the draft to choose someone who has the higher likelihood of being a problem later on. Still others believe that choosing someone with the chance of making headlines could help the team by bringing in publicity – good or bad, they believe the publicity can increase interest in the sport.
What do you think? Is judging a player on past drug abuse or drug charges a good move or is it better to keep character and athletic ability separate when choosing the draft? Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think!
