The tragic Marinovich narrative involves more than just his football failure. The later legal and personal issues after the unsuccessful NFL career are even more troubling.
In the 1991 NFL Draft, the Raiders selected Marinovich in the first round. He started every game in his 8 appearances- 1 in 1991 and 7 in 1992. He completed 104 in 205 passes for 1,345 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 9 interception attempts.
Drug use led to Todd Marinovich’s downfall, which has been well-documented. A month after the 1990 Sun Bowl, the former Capistrano Valley High and USC quarterback was found in possession of cocaine.
After just two seasons, he was cut from the Raiders’ roster due to his continued drug use. Todd entered a guilty plea to felony and misdemeanour charges of growing “marijuana” illegally in his Dana Point home in 1997. He was also charged with illegally carrying prescription drugs.
In 2000, he became a member of the Los Angeles Avengers Arena Football team, but eight months later, he was cut after being suspected of possessing drugs. In 2005, Marinovich was detained again in Newport Beach on drug possession charges.
Two years later, he was accused of having a hypodermic needle without a prescription, resisting detention, and felony possessing controlled narcotics. He was subject to rehabilitation at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, where he met his wife Alix as they both were enrolled in a drug court treatment program.
Coming to 2009, Todd was again booked in Newport Beach as he failed to appear in court for a progress review on his rehabilitation. Following this, he was ordered to be held in jail without bail until his May 4 hearing before the Orange County Superior Court.
Talking about the latest legal trouble, Todd Marinovich was discovered in a neighbor’s backyard on August 22, 2016, naked and possessing drugs. He was then taken into custody in Irvine, California. Authorities claim that Marinovich attempted to open an Irvine home’s sliding glass door while still naked.
Marinovich received citations for trespassing, possessing a controlled narcotic and drug paraphernalia. The controlled substance was identified as methamphetamine by later tests.
He was given a 90-day prison term, but he could avoid it provided he completed a successful recovery program and kept out of problems with the law for 36 months.
Today, Marinovich continues to follow USC football and sporadically shows up to USC open practices. He currently resides in Orange County and maintains an online artwork gallery which presents unique paintings, sketches, and sculptures in an impressionist style, many of which have sports-related subjects.