Former Colts quarterback busted for cocaine possession

Art Schlichter #10, Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts during the American Football Conference West game against the Los Angeles Raiders on 25 November 1984…

Art Schlichter #10, Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts during the American Football Conference West game against the Los Angeles Raiders on 25 November 1984 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States. The Raiders won the game 21 – 7. (Photo by Tony Duffy/Allsport/Getty Images)

by: Matt Christy

Posted: Oct 12, 2022 / 03:32 PM EDT

Updated: Oct 12, 2022 / 03:32 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio — One-time Colts quarterback Art Schlichter was arrested for possession of cocaine after being found unresponsive in a central Ohio hotel room.

According to court documents filed in Franklin County Ohio, Schlichter, 62, was arrested on June 6 after an officer discovered the former NFL and AFL player to be in possession of around .26 grams of cocaine.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Schlichter was found unresponsive in a hotel in Hilliard at around 3:45 a.m. Officers reportedly administered Narcan to Schlichter, a drug used to reverse the effects of opiate overdoses, before he was taken to a hospital.

Schlichter was once a highly touted football prospect who played quarter for Ohio State University for four years prior to being drafted by the Baltimore Colts with the fourth overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft. Schlichter’s NFL career was mired in controversy, however, due to a gambling addiction which led to him being suspended for 13 games in 1982.

The Colts released Schlichter in 1985, one year after moving to Indianapolis.

Schlichter faces a fifth-degree felony count of possession of a schedule II controlled substance and has a court hearing set for Oct. 14.