Imagine being 10 years old, and on your Birthday you are told that you are the best and most amazing person to ever live, then everywhere you go from 10-15 everyone that you talk to, and I mean everyone, tells you how amazing you are, and how much they love you. Everything you do is amazing, and all your faults are written off because everyone wants to be apart of your circle. At 15-18 you are in High School, and already all your coaches in every sport are telling you "Whatever you want to do, we will make it happen, you are the best to every play".. You are a Highschool student, and have nobody holding you accountable for anything you do. Everyone just wants to be near you... That then continues, with very little pushback, from 18-22 into college... Sure some players at your college may TRY to step up and put you in place, but they also want to win, and the coaches don't seem to want to do anything about it. So it continues... THEN you are thrust into the NFL, where for the 1st time ever in your LIFE you are held accountable, and the coaches, teammates, and media don't gave a rip about who you are, or how great you have been told you are for over TEN YEARS... How would you turn out. I ask many times to people when they buy lottery tickets "Would you change if you won a BILLION dollars" Most say "Nope, I would be the same exact person"... In theory, that is all well and good. But would you? I WANT to think I wouldn't change, and that I would be the same person... But I honestly don't know if I would be.
With that all said, I am in no way sticking up for Leaf. I have met him countless times, and every time I walked away thinking "Man, what an ass"... But imagine being in that situation through every bit of your mental and physical maturity. It isn't something that just goes away.