Part 6/9:
After his departure from football, Mandarich struggled significantly. He sank into substance abuse, grappling with alcohol and drug addiction, but thankfully, he eventually sought help through rehabilitation. Upon getting sober, he acknowledged a critical factor in his early career: the extensive steroid use that bolstered his performance in college. To compete at the highest levels, generic drug testing allowed him to evade detection while using anabolic steroids, including substances meant for racehorses. These drugs might have created a veneer of physical prowess, but they bred a culture of recklessness and disregard within him.