SPORTS
December 2, 2016 • THE EASTCHESTER REVIEW • 15
Ex-NBA player shares story By MIKE SMITH Sports Editor On Monday, Nov. 28, the Eastchester school district held its first event in an ongoing series about student wellness and drug abuse prevention, as former NBA player Chris Herren, an ex-heroin addict, spoke with local students and parents about his own battles with drugs and alcohol that cost him his athletic career—and nearly his life. With an escalation in heroin use in the area and several re-
cent overdoses among youths in Westchester, the district decided to bring Herren in to speak on three different occasions over a two-day span—twice on Monday, and once again on Tuesday morning—in an attempt to shed light on the dangers and consequences of drug and alcohol use for teens, framing his own struggles to overcome addiction as a warning. Herren, a father of three, stressed that although teenagers are often quick to shrug off cautionary tales of drug use, in-
Chris Herren addresses the crowd in the Eastchester High School gymnasium. Herren gave three presentations this week as part of the Eastchester school district’s Wellness and Drug Abuse Prevention campaign. Photo/Andrew Dapolite
Eastchester School District Wellness and Drug Abuse Prevention Campaign Dates Dec. 5
The Adolescent Brain Under Stress with Dr. Michael Nerney
Jan. 12
New Year, New You
Feb. 27
A Parent’s Story of Tragedy and Loss with the Salamone family
March 30
Hidden in Plain Sight with Jermaine Galloway
April 24
Prom Safety
May 1
Smart Choices During the Summer Months and After High School with Dr. Michael Nerney
sisting the same won’t happen to them, addiction is an all-too-real threat that destroys lives—and families—indiscriminately. “I remember being at these, listening to some 35-year-old guy talking and I didn’t take it seriously,” Herren told the audience in the high school’s auditorium. “But I was ignorant; I thought I was above it.” A native of Fall River, Massachusetts, Herren, 41, rose to prominence as a high school basketball player, becoming a McDonald’s All-American and one of the most highly coveted college recruits in the nation. He committed to play for Boston College in 1994, but drug addiction quickly cut short his career with the Eagles, prompting a transfer to Fresno State where— despite his struggles with prescription pain pills, including a stint in rehab during his junior year—he played well enough to get selected in the second round of the NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. Unable to kick his habit to prescription opioids—at his peak Herren said he took 1,600 milligrams of Oxycontin painkillers a day—he lasted just two years in the NBA before playing abroad and getting hooked on heroin. He would overdose four times, be charged with seven felonies, and contemplated suicide at various times before finally getting clean on Aug. 1, 2008. Three years later, he formed The Herren Project to increase drug awareness education and to provide help and treatment to those hoping to break their addiction. His story was also the subject of an Emmy award-winning ESPN documentary titled “Unguarded,” which aired in 2011. Herren, who gives motivational talks ranging from prep schools to prisons roughly 250 times a year, told the audience that he believes that his story is not atypical of many addicts. What started as “harmless” alcohol use in high school, often in homes where adults were present, became a steppingstone to harder and more dangerous substances. Of his 14 high school teammates, Herren said, seven ended up becoming addicted to heroin. In that vein, he believes that
Chris Herren speaks at Eastchester High School on Nov. 28. A former NBA player, Herren struggled with drug addictions that cost him his career—and nearly his life. Photo/Mike Smith
open dialogue between parents and children is an important first step toward combatting future addiction. “I grew up with the attitude and belief that drinking beers and smoking pot on Friday nights was right, that there was nothing wrong with it,” he said. “I hung out in basements where parents told us we were safe, and allowed us to drink, as long as we didn’t drive.” Herren, who said his goal is to impact just one person each time he gives a talk, also proposed that schools across the country take steps toward focusing more class time to address these issues. “Wellness should be a core class,” he said. “In a lot of schools, kids aren’t having these classes and these talks until they are 16 or 17.” Herren’s talk was the first in what the school district hopes will be a path toward an ongoing dialogue in the community about the pressures and challenges facing students today. On Dec. 5, Dr. Michael Nerney will give a lecture about risk assessment and stress in the adolescent brain. In February, the family of Justin Salamone, a Mahopac teen who died of a heroin overdose in 2012, will share their story, and the speaker series will be rounded out by an appearance by police officer Jermaine Galloway, who will
discuss how parents can identify telltale signs of drug and alcohol abuse in teens. On Monday night, Herren admitted that while there is no surefire way to completely stamp out drug use, lines of communication between par-
ents, teachers, students and law enforcement officers can go a long way toward saving lives. “Addiction is tricky,” he said. “Nobody knows who is carrying that card in their back pocket.” CONTACT: sports@hometwn.com
In 2011, Herren’s story of redemption was the subject of the ESPN documentary “Unguarded” that detailed the basketball star’s drug abuse.