Erik Ainge Talks About Depths of His Addictions

New York Jets QB Erik Ainge has opened up with ESPN, recounting in deep details the start of his self medication and drug addiction dating back to the time he was 12 years old all the way up to his two-week bender that almost landed him in prison in Knoxville last summer shortly before training camp.  It’s a chilling tale of an athlete who had it all … and who still came to just inches from the brink of destruction.  Now over se In this section he talks about why he failed a drug test his rookie season, and the subsequent injury to his foot that kept him away from the field. My drug problem went from bad to worse. My rookie year, I failed a drug test for taking Adderall and got suspended four games. Adderall is like Ritalin, an amphetamine. I started taking Adderall back in high school, just to stay awake — a lot of kids take it. But most of my rookie year, it was painkillers — and lots of them. I was taking 25 Percocets at a time. Five hours later, I’d d...