Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf knows all too well the struggle for mental health and is critical of Netflix’s portrayal of Johnny Manziel’s docuseries: Untold.
Leaf, who played four seasons in the NFL, with four different teams, since being drafted No.2 overall pick in the 1998 Draft, also suffered with substance abuse after a successful college career, much like the Manziel story.
Leaf, who turned out for the Chargers, Buccaneers, Cowboys and Seahawks has a strong stint at Washington State, winning the PAC-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 1997.
He strongly came out after an X tweet by ESPN’s Marcus Spears praising episode 2 of the Manziel series.
He said he felt the QB’s story did not receive fair treatment by the show and was in fact the wrong story to begin with.
He reacted by saying, "The Manziel doc did not educate. It made a mockery of mental health, suicide, substance abuse disorder … and offered no healing solutions."
He did add that maybe he was "too close to it [the story]" but still he was disappointed.
"Stigma halts the conversation around MH, suicide, and substance use disorder. When we applaud something that stigmatizes, we perpetuate it," he concluded.
Manziel, a friend of rapper Drake was a round 1 pick in the 2022 draft for the Cleveland Browns and ended up playing there two seasons. The Texas A&M legend even tried his hand at baseball and was drafted 837 in the 2014 MLB draft for the San Diego Padres as a shortstop.
Manziel has admitted that he suffers from bipolar disorder and has a string of drug and alcohol controversies through the years.
Sports Illustrated also took umbrage to the docuseries calling it, "bizarre [and] poorly done".
