Former NBA Star Talks Drugs, How Addiction Cost Him His Career Tuesday

More people are dying in the United States from drug overdoses than from car crashes.

Let that sink in for a minute.

At least half of all opioid overdose deaths, the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention announced in October, involve prescription painkillers. They’re calling the phenomenon an overdose epidemic, and it's not one to be ignored.

Overdoses, substance abuse, painkillers: these are words and phrases that former NBA basketball player Chris Herren is all too familiar with. On Tuesday, Nov. 29, he’ll be presenting the story of how drug abuse ended his basketball career in front of a gym-full of District 205 community members.

“The goal of the event is to bring awareness to how detrimental the use [and] abuse of alcohol and pain medication can be and how this path can lead to addiction,” the district stated in a press release.

While Herren is clean now and has been since August 2008, he struggled with substance abuse for much of his professional career playing for the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics. He wrote a memoir in 2011 — Basketball Junkie — that details his story, and he was also the subject of a 2013 Emmy-nominated ESPN Films documentary called Unguarded.

Herren’s journey was much like many others’ — he was prescribed pain medication, became addicted to it and, when those drugs became inaccessible or too expensive, turned to heroin. It had been a lifelong dream of his to play for the Boston Celtics, but his addiction cost him that life.

These days, his slogan is simple: “Be a pro at being you.”

Herren’s first stop in Elmhurst will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 at the York High School Campbell (Green & White) Gym. This presentation is open to the entire District 205 community, the district announced in a release.
His next presentation is focused more around the district’s youth — he’ll be addressing the entire York High School student body starting at 7:40 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30.

“He will speak about self-esteem, self-respect and having confidence to make the right choices,” the district stated in a release. “He explains that he always envied the non-users and the fact that they were satisfied simply being themselves.”

Herren has focused his sobriety around his family and making a difference in the lives of younger people. His visit to Elmhurst is being sponsored by the Elmhurst Commission on Youth, the District 205 Foundation and the D205 PTA Council.
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Image courtesy of Elmhurst District 205