Lying to Myself: The Ryan Leaf Story
Football was Ryan Leaf’s life, but the pressure to perform on such a high level was more
than he could deal with. This finally led to the end of his professional football career in
the NFL. Leaf struggled with his mental health and began to abuse prescription opiates
due to a previous football injury. He was caught breaking into people’s homes to feed
his addiction and faced a prison sentence. When Leaf first entered prison, he had no
motivation. However, his cellmate urged him to use his prison time as an opportunity
to accomplish something of greater importance, and he did. Leaf describes the time in
prison as a time of spiritual growth and humility.
Today, Leaf’s mission is to reach anyone in need of hope. He inspires others to begin their
road to recovery to see that happiness and health can always be achieved. He chooses to
share his story dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse in order to reach
those who cannot yet imagine a better life for themselves. Ryan’s wish is to be an
example that a better life is always possible.
