Marcus Allen knew, and tried to help. So did Howie Long. But many of Todd Marinovich’s teammates on the Los Angeles Raiders of the early 1990s had no idea their young quarterback was using drugs.
Marinovich had come to the Raiders from USC, where he had guided the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory as a freshman. By that time, he had accumulated two nicknames: “Robo Quarterback,” after the legendarily demanding training regimen instilled by his father, former Raiders player and assistant coach Marv Marinovich, intended to foster excellence in athletes. The other nickname was far more unflattering: “Marijuana-vich,” for his pot-smoking, which became a taunt from opposing fans in high school. When Marinovich reached the NFL, it wasn’t just marijuana he was abusing.
