The Super Bowl it won’t be for a few more days, but those who tune into NFL radio on Wednesday, Feb. 4 saw a spectacle of their own when former quarterback Ryan Leaf allegedly confronted Dr. David Chao.
San Diego Sports Talk Host Scott Kaplan witnessed the alleged altercation, which he said happened right behind him, and described it on his show, Kaplan & Crewas “very aggressive”.
“Ryan Leaf has a bone to pick with everybody,” Kaplan said. “He goes on Twitter and just tries to rattle the cages. He gets close and before you know it, he’s in Dr. David Chao’s face.”
When Chao joined Kaplan & Crewwent into more detail.
Is Drake Maye ready for the 2026 Super Bowl? Rumors of a potential injury have New England Patriots fans on edge. Maye, 23, appeared to suffer a shoulder injury during the Patriots’ AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, January 25. The stiff-armed quarterback, linebacker Jonah Elliss, during the fourth quarter, which (…)
“I’m not making a big deal about it,” Chao said. “I wish the best for Ryan. I don’t know why in the 10 years here at Radio Row, I’ve seen him dozens of times, this is the first time he’s said anything to me.”
Chao, also known among fans as “Pro Football Doc,” was the team doctor for the San Diego Chargers from 1997 to 2013, coinciding with Leaf’s time in San Diego from 1998 to 2000. The 49-year-old Leaf filed a malpractice suit against Chao in 2002 over his treatment of the quarterback, but was ultimately dropped. dress
The controversial doctor faced additional malpractice lawsuits, costing him more than $8 million, according to a 2013 report by USA Today. The NFL Players Association tried to have him removed from his position and the Medical Board of California tried to revoke his medical license. A 2010 DEA investigation also found he had written more than 100 prescriptions for himself.
It came under further scrutiny in 2012 when former Charger Junior Bucket he killed himself when it was discovered that Chao had prescribed him Ambien. The Medical Board charged him with gross negligence and he was placed on probation for four years starting in 2017.
Leaf allegedly said it on Wednesday.
“He’s been accusing me of, ‘Why did you go to? Gina Seauto Junior’s house to convince her not to study Junior’s brain. And I said, ‘Well, you’re getting the facts wrong, Ryan,'” Chao continued. “And that’s all I told him. Gina and her oldest daughter came to my house the day after Junior died and asked me for advice on how to study the brain and I had the brain studied at the NIH.”
Seau’s family eventually sent his brain tissue to the National Institutes of Health for study signs of CTE. The NIH has not made the results public.
Although Kaplan called Leaf’s confrontation “completely unprofessional,” Chao said he was ready to move on from the incident.
“The slits have stitches,” he said. “I’m not going to report Ryan to anybody. He didn’t get physical, it was words. Was it inappropriate? You be the judge.”
While Chao said it was the first time Leaf had confronted him in person, the former quarterback has called him out on social media several times, including in December 2025 when he commented on the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback. Patrick Mahomes have the team doctor for the Dallas Cowboys perform your ACL surgery.
“I wish we did it back in the day, going to the best Dr available instead of having to get slaughtered by @ProFootballDoc #FakeDr Chao if you were a @chargers player,” he wrote. via X.