A former University of Hawaii coach and a teammate backed Colt Brennan amid a storm of public criticism and disappointment around the former UH star quarterback.
Brennan was arrested late Wednesday night in Kailua on suspicion of drunken driving and promotion of a dangerous drug. He was released from jail Thursday afternoon pending further investigation.
"These are serious
charges, and whatever
he can do to get his life
back on track I think is
first and foremost at this
time."
Rich Miano
Former UH assistant coach,
on Colt Brennan (above)
Though many details of the incident were not yet clear — such as the drug in question — views publicly expressed ranged from it being a mere setback for Brennan to a potentially fatal blow to the football career of the 2007 Heisman Trophy finalist and one-time UH fan sensation.
Brennan’s path has been rocky at best since he was drafted and then cut two years later by the Washington Redskins in 2010; his latest setback prior to Wednesday night was being let go by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League last month.
Friends say Brennan had recently returned to the islands to interview for a job, his first efforts to pursue a career outside of his shattered dream of playing pro football.
"I think it’s time for us to reach out and help him overcome these things that he’s dealing with, and I think he needs to help himself as well," said former UH associate head coach Rich Miano, now the head coach at Kaiser High. "These are serious charges, and whatever he can do to get his life back on track I think is first and foremost at this time."
Former UH running back Nate Ilaoa, Brennan’s roommate in 2005 and ’06, also said he will stand by his friend. They had lunch together on Tuesday and Brennan spoke of some future plans in the islands.
"He’s got a place out here, and he was planning on just trying to figure things out," Ilaoa said. "You get to a point in football in this situation where you want to play so bad, but it’s tough when teams don’t want you to play, or you can’t play, as much as you want to or are capable. Sometimes the (position) numbers aren’t right or the situation. You can’t play ball, and that’s tough. He’s at that stage."
Ilaoa said Brennan was "more than just a teammate to me," from their days working out their football and life issues.
"It’s unfortunate," Ilaoa said of the police allegations. "As far as him getting through it, it’s definitely possible and I believe he will. He’ll be able to bounce back. … It’s not just Colt, this could happen to anybody. But it’s Colt, so obviously a lot of people are going to hear about it. But this is for anybody who has friends, family members that run into rough times. You just have to be there for them. Being a close friend of Colt’s, and former teammates at UH, that’s what I plan on doing, is being there for him. Being an outlet for him if he needs anything."
Plenty of national attention was directed Brennan’s way Thursday via twitter, in no small part because celebrity gossip website TMZ.com ran with the story early.
The incident brought to the fore Brennan’s previous run-in with the law at Colorado in 2004 prior to joining the UH football team, in which he entered a female student’s dorm room uninvited. He was acquitted of sexual assault and indecent exposure, but was convicted of first-degree criminal trespass and second-degree burglary and sentenced to seven days in jail and four years probation. Those troubles largely faded during Brennan’s standout career at UH.
But more recently, a 2010 two-car accident on Hawaii island nearly took Brennan’s life and that of Dr. Theresa Wang when the SUV driven by his girlfriend Shakti Stream crossed the center line into oncoming traffic.
"He’s dealt with his share of ups and downs," Ilaoa said. "He’s seen the top and he’s been at the bottom before. … What’s on the table right now, I think he’ll be able to figure it out, hopefully soon enough to where things hopefully get back on track and get back to what he wants to do."
UH fans blew up the topic on message boards and social media. The prevailing themes were pity, disappointment, shock and scorn for one of their icons.
"While I appreciate what Colt did for UH, I think it’s really sad how he’s struggled since leaving," lifelong UH fan Lance Tominaga said.
Another UH fan, who didn’t wish to be named, surmised that Brennan’s troubles have added up since the car accident.
"Maybe a lot of teams didn’t want to deal with him because of his head trauma or all that stuff about concussions and they didn’t want to get involved with that," the fan said. "It seems like he never got a chance to show his stuff. Or maybe, behind closed doors, he didn’t have any more stuff to give. Probably now we’ll never know, with this popping up."
Miano urged for public support of Brennan to overcome this latest hurdle.
"He’s dealt with adversity and he has had issues prior to this," Miano said. "I’ve always felt all along that people don’t realize how much pressure and how tremendous the spotlight was when he was at the peak of his career. But I think he has to understand what an incredible role model he was for the state of Hawaii, and he still could be, if he gives back and continues to try to help young people and be a role model.
"Obviously this is a setback in terms of his overall persona and his whole character. But Colt has to look inside himself and decide that he wants to do the right thing and he wants to be a role model. And that’s his decision."
