JaMarcus Russell discusses true story behind his 'purple drank' failed drug test at LSU

JaMarcus Russell had a different way of coping with injuries during his time at LSU. The former Tigers quarterback admitted he would use codeine cough syrup in lieu of taking pills to alleviate his discomfort.

Russell said he would mix the codeine with soda and hard candy to create the drink “lean,” which is also commonly referred to as “Purple Drank.” Codeine is legal for those who have a prescription, but Russell apparently did not. Then-head coach Les Miles would eventually catch on to his star quarterback’s habit, leading to a confrontation near the end of the 2005 season.

“We had a banquet and I had a sling,” Russell explained on the Pivot Podcast. “I had separated my shoulder in the (SEC) championship game. I went to the banquet and I didn’t want to wear my suit with my sling on so I took it off that night. That was a mistake. I hurt so bad all night. I didn’t want to take a pill because I’m not a pill guy. My mom was there and I told her, ‘I’ll be back.’ I went through the neighborhood in Baton Rouge. Before someone told, it had been a few days in between so they had to catch on. Once they brought me in for a urine sample, I told them I had been drinking cough syrup due to my issue. Les Miles was the coach at the time. I was going home for Christmas and got a phone call. ‘I need to see you.’ I was like, ‘Damn, how’s this sh*t finna work out?'”

LSU suspended JaMarcus Russell from playing in the Peach Bowl, though it’s unclear if he would have been healthy enough to play anyway based on his injury. He returned for the 2006 season, where he went on to throw for 3,129 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Russell said he was first introduced to lean at the age of 14, when he drank some by accident after thinking it was soda. That experience was scary enough to keep him away from it for a while, but he picked it back up in college as a way to cope with pain.

“My first time trying it wasn’t (intentional),” he said. “It was by mistake. I’m at the park and the grown ups be out there weekly because of the kids’ park ball. I went in the cooler and yeah. Pineapple. After a while I start feeling a certain way, and the guy that I know he got me a room and got me situated because he knew what was going on. I didn’t take that again until college. It’s gonna make you sleepy and it ain’t gonna make you feel nothing. I knew that. I don’t like Lortab and all that. As far as the drank thing, that was my thing. That was me.”

Following the 2006 season, the Oakland Raiders selected Russell with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Despite his high expectations, he failed to make the same impact he did in college and was out of the league by 2009. The quarterback admitted that he continued to drink lean while in the pros, which caused him to gain weight and lose production. After his exit from the league, he was arrested for possession of codeine in 2010.

Now 36, Russell said he has learned from his past mistakes and would do things differently given the chance. He may not have had the career he strived for on the field, but nobody can ever take away the fact that he was a No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and all of the other accolades he accumulated in college.

“Was I perfect? As a player? As a person? Hell no,” he said. “I shouldn’t have been sippin’ like that, in the NFL. I should’ve stayed in better shape. I should’ve been more of a student of the game. I got to live with my mistakes. I’d do it 10 times differently today, if I was coming up in a different era.”