Whatever Happened to...Todd Marinovich?

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For this week's edition of "Whatever Happened to...", we examine a tragic figure of Oedipean proportions, a wunderkind whose father pushed him just a little too far, a man with a once flowing mane...the incomparable, incorrigible Todd Marinovich.

Marinovich is the epitome of the term "groomed for success." His father, Marv Marinovich, is a former NFL lineman now famous for his innovative workout technique, Proper Body Exercise. The elder Marinovich still trains the likes of Troy Polamalu, but it was twenty years ago he coached his brightest protege, a then hirsute Todd Marinovich. Todd garnered national attention at Capistrano Valley High by shattering national passing records, making him one of the most prized recruits of 1987 (which, incidentally, is probably the best year in I Love the 80s). He followed in his father's footsteps (without much say) by going to every UC Berkeley students' favorite safety school, USC. He led the Trojans to a Rose Bowl in his freshman year, but ultimately left school early to join the Oakland Raiders as a first round draft pick.

The rest of this cautionary tale is known by every schoolboy who dreams of playing in the NFL as a quarterback: he left the NFL within a year amid drug scandals, played briefly in the Canadian Football League & Arena Football League (he's still on the record books in the AFL for 2nd most passing yards in a game), followed by rape charges, and recently, more drug charges.

The question we must address is this: how could the Golden Child fall so far from grace, going from record holder to roach holder? How could Todd Marinovich morph into Todd Bridges? And what was up with that hair?

To say Marv had high hopes (honestly, no pun intended) for his son is an understatement. Anything less than perfection was ordinary in Marv's mind. And up until his first year in the NFL, Marinovich really did do no wrong...sure, he got into some trouble regarding drugs at $C, but he still got drafted in the first round, receiving a healthy $2.27 million deal with the Raiders. But most NFL players will tell you the leap from college to the NFL is like going from a tricycle to a Harley Davidson. And Marinovich was ill-equipped for a hog...he was slow, he was inaccurate, and he just didn't "get it."

Todd's father was, in a word, dominating. Explaining how he raised Todd, Marv stated, "I told him when to eat, what to eat, when to go to bed, when to get up, when to work out, how to work out." The strings were held Gepetto Marinovich. With that kind of pressure put upon his shoulders, Todd struggled. Everyone else's expectations (including an SI Cover Article with the ominous headline "Wither Todd Marinovich?") didn't help either. I am not a licensed therapist, but it is pretty easy to surmise that Todd turned to drugs to escape this pressure.

The old adage goes "there's no such thing as bad press." But when it's your first year in the NFL, and you're on one of the most visible teams in the league, bad press will ruin you. So with sub-par numbers and rumors of drug use swirling, Marinovich headed to greener pastures: Canada. But within the friendly confines of the CFL, and later the Arena Football League, Marinovich never found his groove. So it is not surprising that in his latest arrest in May of 2005, he listed his occupation as "unemployed artist" (kind of like Kevin Federline). The arrest really epitomized his career: he tried to escape by bicycle, but police caught up with him 15 blocks away. He never could escape from the defense in the NFL either.

The story of Todd Marinovich is a cautionary tale. You don't end up on ESPN's Top 25 Flops list by accident...Michael Jordan didn't wake up one morning wondering how he ended up on a minor league baseball team. No, Todd's story is one of unmitigated expectations, an overly controlling parental figure and a lack of self-worth outside that conferred by others (that last statement might be self-evident...let me think about it).

Towards the end of my favorite sports movie, Hoop Dreams, William Gates explains, "They ask me, 'Will you remember me when you're in the NBA?' I should ask them, 'Will you remember me if I'm not in the NBA?'" Perhaps Todd should have asked those around him a similar question...