Slam Dunk! Athlete, Addict, Inspiration:
Basketball Legend Chris Herren Visits ASR

by Lisa Hunt and Frank Bartolomeo

The parents of a current ASR student read in The Boston Globe about Chris Herren, a former professional basketball player who seemed to have it all: amazing athletic talent, devoted family, fame and a promising NBA career, all of which was derailed by addiction. "I've been to hell and back," said Herren. "I lived the life that most people, a lot of people, don't get a chance to come out of, straight up. By the grace of God and the help from a plethora of people, I was able to come out of this."

These parents saw in Chris a role model for their son, who is also a talented basketball player but whose struggles led to his enrollment at ASR. Through the family's outreach and support, Chris has established himself as a role model to the ASR community. On Wednesday, October 14th, Chris told his story, one that resonated with many ASR students, here on campus. He emphasized several points that are extraordinarily relevant to adolescents.

Chris explained that he had held an attitude of "it [addiction] will never happen to me" and the ways in which this belief sustained his denial. He recalled that as a teenager, it never occurred to him or anyone else that he would become addicted to drugs. He emphasized that he was not the biggest party guy in his social circle in high school, and that there were kids who were abusing substances much worse than he was.

Barriers to harder and harder drugs incrementally fell aside. Chris related that when he entered Boston College on a full basketball scholarship, he never imagined using cocaine, but a short time thereafter he was expelled for cocaine use. The news made the front page of The Boston Globe.

Chris noted that addiction is a progressive disease. He poignantly described that in time NOTHING meant more to him than his drugs: not playing for the Boston Celtics (a dream he’d had since childhood), not his wife and children, not his own life. He emphasized to ASR students that they don't have to reach the point of life or death before they turn their lives around: the opportunity to do so is now, and he encouraged students to make full use of the help they are receiving.

Chris emphasized that teens who don't use drugs are his heroes. He said how much he regretted mocking those peers in High School who refused to use substances, and said further that he admires how strong those kids were.

We are grateful to Chris for the gift of his story, which brought many tears. His is a story of great promise, despair and redemption.

"Chris Herren's message made it real for our students," one ASR staff member states. "He showed our students by his example how easy it is to live in denial, and how powerful addiction can be. On the flip side, he showed us that there is a way out, and that sober living is not a sentence to a dull life. Chris' story is still reverberating throughout the ASR community."

Visit Chris Herren online at www.ahoopdream.com.

"Chris Herren described the harsh reality of taking the wrong path, and how easy it is to get there. He showed me that I can turn things around and be sober, and more importantly, be happy doing so."

-ASR Student from Boston