Former NFL quarterback and WTAMU coach Ryan Leaf gets probation
AMARILLO, Texas (AP) - Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has been sentenced to 10 years of probation after pleading guilty to eight felony drug charges in Texas.
State District Judge John B. Board sentenced Leaf on Wednesday in Amarillo. Leaf also was fined $20,000. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance.
Leaf, speaking to reporters after the hearing, said "deep in my heart I knew I had a problem" even as he continued to use prescription pain medication.
Leaf, who has been living in Canada, was a star at Washington State but a bust during his four-year NFL career.
He then coached quarterbacks at West Texas A&M in Canyon. He resigned in November 2008.
Leaf was indicted in May 2009.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
