Sad story............the guy's 38 years old and still skate boarding around Newport Beach with Meth in his pocket....
:idea:
Friday, August 31, 2007
Marinovich on Marinovich
Would-be football superstar reflects on a life tarnished.
By JEFF OVERLEY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Todd Marinovich can still throw the pigskin – just ask the inmates of Orange County's Musick Branch Jail.
The 6-foot-5, onetime USC phenom was tossing the football around with fellow prisoners Friday morning, shortly before he sat down for an interview in the wake of his latest drug arrest.
Outfitted in an orange jumpsuit that matched his thinning hair, Marinovich spoke for 30 minutes about drug addiction and artwork, football and family. He marveled at how, even 15 years after his NFL career fizzled, his name still makes headlines.
"After being out of the game for so long, it is surprising to me that there is so much interest," said Marinovich, 38, who was booked early Sunday morning for drug possession and resisting a police officer.
Perhaps, Marinovich acknowledged, time makes his story more intriguing – the more he runs afoul of the law, the more compelling the kid-who-had-it-all-going-for-him-and-blew-it narrative becomes. But, he insists, that storyline just isn't accurate.
"It's funny to me when people say, y'know, I've thrown it away," Marinovich said. "What did I throw away if I've reached the level I wanted to reach? I've played in stadiums I've always dreamed of playing in, I've played against guys that I grew up watching. What more could a kid want?"
Marinovich has rarely shied from those reporting his legend. From his halcyon days as the cannon-armed wunderkind of Mater Dei and Capo Valley High School, to his comeback in the Arena Football League, and all the way through his morass of legal woes, the Southern California native has rarely pushed the microphone away. "The media's gonna write what they're gonna write, so you might as well be open and speak frankly," he said.
Now living with his mother in Balboa, Marinovich's freckled face is tanned a ruddy bronze, a product of his daily surfing and bodysurfing sessions. He says he makes a living training youngsters on gridiron fundamentals and pursuing artwork, a longtime passion. His blue eyes beamed when he spoke of being able to "just kind of be free."
He wouldn't talk about the specifics of his arrest. Newport Beach police say he ran after they tried to stop him for skateboarding in a prohibited area, and that when they caught him, he had a gram of methamphetamine stashed in a guitar case. He's being held without bail on probation violations and has pleaded not guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance and two misdemeanors.
As for addiction, Marinovich said he's "been given by God a positive outlook."
"It's not saying that I'm never going to relapse or I'm never going to make another mistake. It's just the fact that I'm getting up and trying again, because what else can you ask for?"
Stints in jail and rehab – first when he pleaded guilty to cultivating marijuana in 1997, and several times since – have helped, he said. "Prior to this relapse, I've put together the most sober and happy days that I have."
During legal woes, friends stayed true. His first visitor was a buddy who brought along his two sons, one of whom Marinovich said he's training. "It was hard for him to bring his sons here, because they're only 11 and 9," Marinovich said. "But he wanted to instill in them that friends stick by friends, no matter thick or thin."
Marinovich was famously groomed from birth for football stardom – in the crib, his dad reportedly had him doing stretching exercises, and later, fast food was off-limits – but he said the lofty expectations didn't warp him and that he talks with his father almost daily.
His advice for young stars: "Surround yourself with as much goodness as possible, because there's a lot of negative forces that are out there trying to break people down."
As for his own future, Marinovich said his work with young athletes has him desirous of fatherhood. He hasn't had a serious relationship in years, he said, but there's time for that.
In the meantime, he's working on a book about his life. The going is slow, and he's not sure how long it will take, but one thing is certain, he said: "It's gonna be quite the memoir."
Contact the writer: 714-445-6683 or joverley@ocregister.com