Chris Herren: The Rise and Fall of A Star Athlete Turned Junkie
“Homeboy, you’ve been dead for 30 seconds,” were the first words Chris Herren heard as his eyes slowly opened and he started to regain consciousness. His fourth heroin overdose had finally pushed his body past its ability to function, forcing paramedics and police to resuscitate him. As his vision cleared he realized he was in handcuffs in the back of an ambulance, on the way to the hospital, and on his way to jail.
This is the story Chris Herren shared this past week while speaking to student-athletes at Montclair State University.
As a teenager, Chris Herren had the world at his fingertips. He was the star of his high school basketball team and had the opportunity to play college basketball wherever he wanted. The small town of Fall River, Massachusetts regarded Herren as a hometown hero; he had it all. Fall River, on the other hand, did not. The blue collar New England town was a rough place to grow up. “My mom turned 40 and got 40 black roses and a yellow pages book on the doorstep. She was supposed to pick one of her sons, and circle a funeral home in the book,” Herren recalls, “Death threats were a regular in high school.” Despite the violence and negativity of everyday life, Herren dominated the basketball court with commanding presence.
Greatness would be expected of Chris Herren from the moment he stepped foot on a collegiate basketball court. At Durfee High School, Herren set the record for most points scored by an individual. As a senior, he was recognized as a McDonald’s All-American and the Gatorade Player of the Year. It was a surprise to many when he chose Boston College, turning down powerhouses such as Duke University and University of Kentucky. There was no doubt that the youngest Herren would be sensational at Boston College. The young athlete had a magnetic presence about him, a star on and off the court. He socialized, he partied, but never flirted with any “serious” or “hard drugs”. That all changed one night during his freshman year. Herren walked into his room to see his roommate and a girl huddled over a desk and when he realized that the white powder they had was cocaine, he started to leave. As he turned away he heard the girl, a fellow athlete say, “Where you going? Come back, it won’t kill you..I promise”. That one line of cocaine took Herren 14 years to walk away from.
The charismatic young star with the limitless future never imagined he would turn into a junkie, or what he described as “that kid.” He looks back on a time a speaker came into his high school to talk about drugs and alcohol abuse. He remembers arrogantly ignoring everything he had to say, thinking the man’s story did not and would never apply to him. In hindsight, Herren says, “I would give anything to go back to 1994, and listen.” After getting kicked out of Boston College, Herren was given a second chance by Jerry Tarkanian, the head coach of the Fresno State Basketball program. Herren still struggled with drugs, and was in and out of rehab while playing for the Bulldogs. In 1999, the star with the tainted past was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the NBA Draft. His dream came true when he went to play for the Boston Celtics. At that point, he was extremely reliant on painkillers and recalls leaving free game tickets to kids who would sell him drugs. After just one year, the Celtics released him, and he went on to play overseas. Italy was where Herren opened his veins to heroin, the drug that would one day stop his heart.
As days turned into years, the former standout watched his basketball career and family evaporate right before his eyes. He was barely holding his family together, having covertly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on drugs and alcohol. On June 4th, 2008, Herren, high on heroin, crashed into a cemetery fence in Fall River, and was pronounced dead for 30 seconds. His wife was eight months pregnant with their third child. It was then, after four overdoses, and accumulating seven felonies, that Herren finally got the help he needed, and succeeded in getting clean. When asked about his recovery, Herren said that for as long as he could remember, he had to shave and brush his teeth in the shower. Why? He was unable to look at himself in the mirror. It was one of the highest points of his recovery when he was again able to look in the mirror, look in his own eyes, and finally face the man he had been and the recovered addict he now is.
Herren says, “It’s not about the worst day, it’s about the first day.” He believes that there is too much focus on what long-term drug addicts look and act like, and it is overlooked that a drug addiction can happen to anyone at anytime, even those who seem to have it all. He makes it known that drug addiction is a disease that no one should be ashamed of. Herren now speaks to students, athletes, and people all over the country. Tara Rienecker, Montclair’s Academic Advisor for Athletes said that “The Chris Herren Project made a lasting impression on our student-athletes. It was emotional, real and unforgettable. Programs like this and speakers of this magnitude are making a difference. For student-athletes, drugs and alcohol misuse at the college level can be an issue and maybe this program will make them think twice or seek the treatment they need if it’s already a problem. Simply said, it was a fantastic program with a meaningful message.” In his touching and poignant presentation, Herren explained that he speaks in hopes of reaching just one kid, but he never knows when and if the message is going to stick.
Mr. Herren, it stuck.
