Arrest ‘bump in the road’

Southern California native and former Los Angeles Raiders and USC quarterback Todd Marinovich said from jail Friday that his most recent drug-related incarceration is a bump in the road to sobriety.

“Each time that I’ve made an effort at it, I’ve had more fun and stayed clean longer so why stop now because of this bump in the road. It’s no different than the bump five years ago,” Marinovich said.

“I don’t know any other way to see it. It’s just like throwing an interception

the best people are going to throw interceptions. It’s about dealing with the next possession, the next breath.”

From childhood Marinovich was groomed for football. A one-time Heisman Trophy candidate for USC, the-then Los Angeles Raiders picked him up in the first round of the draft in 1991.

Considered a draft-bust by many, Marinovich later played for the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League. He was released in 2001.

Marinovich was arrested Sunday in Newport Beach for felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor counts of unauthorized possession of a hypodermic needle and resisting a police officer.

“Every rehab that I’ve been in, and I’ve been in countless ones, has been positive in some way or another. And each time that I’ve gone, I’ve put together a longer length of sobriety,” he said.

“I’m good about not beating myself up for it,” Marinovich said of his multiple legal transgressions and relapses. “I think it’s part of my make-up. It’s something that made me successful on the field. Always knowing that if I am breathing we have a chance to pull it out or I have a chance to turn it around.”

Marinovich has been involved in about nine criminal cases, many of which were drug-related, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

His path to this arrest started roughly a month ago, when Marinovich said he first relapsed after nearly a year of sobriety.

“Sometimes it just happens. I’ll get into a situation where I shouldn’t be. And not all the time do I succumb to it, but the times that I have...” Marinovich said, not completing the thought.

“In my situation getting out of Orange County might be more beneficial” he said, referring to the bad influences around him here. “[But] the county has other ideas for me with me being on probation. So they’re keeping me in a place that is not conducive to sobriety. It makes it difficult.”

Marinovich was held without bail because he had warrants out for his arrest for probation violations.

When police arrested him, they said they found a gram of methamphetamine, a needle and a spoon inside a guitar case he was carrying.

When he gets out, Marinovich plans to go back to working on his art.

He said he’s working on a sculpture, and surrounding himself with positive people trying to stay sober. He said he also enjoys painting landscapes with oils and acrylics.

“My art is in a way my church; it’s a way of connecting with something greater than myself and expressing it. And I love it, I could do it all day long,” he said.

To him, success is measured in life experiences — of which he has undoubtedly had many.

He said he also wants to work on getting his life story out there, saying people can learn from his experiences from childhood to his current time in jail.

“What have I learned from my experience?” he said rhetorically. “Perception is everything. Easily along the road I could have gotten down and given up, but I haven’t.

“Some people think I’m a loser because I’m sitting where I’m at. Oh well,” he said, chuckling, looking out at fellow inmates exiting the building. “I’m happy, because I know this is not who I am. This is where I am, at the moment. But this is not who I am.”