Len Bias

Best example: Sam Bowie

 

actually I didn't recongnize the pun there, that was a poor choice of words.

 

Guys, understand the sentiment that there are no sure things, but

The Len Bias story is more than just about another athlete who succumbed to societal preassures and left a lot of minds wonder, "what could have been".

All of us old enough to remember when he died, remember the prominence of the story. It was national news, because it happened in the D.C. area, and it really kind of kicked off the whole D.A.R.E. program by Nacy Reagan.

It may have been an even bigger story in Houston because we had just lost a couple of players to drug suspensions off of the Rockets when we all thought they were building a dynasty.

For any kid growing up in the eighties, we all know how prominent the D.A.R.E. program was and Len Bias's death really gave it the steam it needed.

For me personally, I had never heard of anyone dying of a drug overdose until Len Bias's death. The reason you still hear about it till this day isn't because Bias was the next Magic, its because of what the story meant at the time. It really was a turning point for the war on drugs.

It fed the government's ability to be a lot harsher on drug crimes. To fund anti drug messages throughout this country's schools. No one cared when a musician got hooked because that's what musicians did, but when it happened to Bias it really led to a lot of changes in this country.