Pubdate: Tue, 20 Jun 2006
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Copyright: 2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Contact:  http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408
Author: Ted Miller
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

EXCESS LINKS BIAS, BONDS

Less than 48 hours after being picked second overall by the Boston 
Celtics in the 1986 NBA draft, Len Bias went on a 3 a.m. cocaine 
bender with some buddies.

The cocaine, reportedly piled high on a dorm room table, shut down his heart.

Dead ... just like that.

The two-time ACC Player of the Year at Maryland was a basketball 
talent comparable to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Duke coach Mike 
Krzyzewski repeatedly has called Bias and Michael Jordan the two best 
players he's competed against.

Twenty years ago Monday.

Trace your finger along the historical timeline of 1986.

The Chicago Bears, AIDS, Libya, President Reagan, Hulk Hogan, 
Halley's Comet, Chernobyl, "Top Gun," Live Aid, Space Shuttle 
Challenger, $10 barrels of oil, Al Capone's vault, Mike Tyson, 
Beirut, Bill Buckner.

Jose Canseco, American League Rookie of the Year.

Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire break into the major leagues.

One drug era begins to end, while the seeds of another arrive.

Two decades ago, Bias became a sports symbol because of the greatness 
drugs prevented him from accomplishing.

He could have become the famous athlete of his age. Instead, he 
became an infamous symbol, personifying the cautionary tale of 
cocaine excess in the '80s.

Today, we wring our hands over men -- Canseco, McGwire, Bonds -- who 
have become infamous symbols of what illegal drugs helped them accomplish.

In the 1980s, athletes mirrored society at large, snarfing 
recreational drugs, chasing party-time euphoria amid the bright 
lights of the big city.

In the 21st century, athletes created their own subculture of drug 
use, ingesting high-tech chemical cocktails that enhanced performance 
rather than mood.

It wasn't about fun. It was about records and fame. And money.

Bias -- and Lawrence Taylor and Steve Howe and Chris Washburn -- 
wanted an edgy way to celebrate themselves. Bonds and company just 
wanted an edge.

Is one motivation better than the other?

Some libertarian sorts would insist that recreational drug use is a 
matter of personal choice, a victimless crime detrimental only to the 
user. Of course, it wrecks families, careers and nourishes the 
illegal drug trade, a violent business that is responsible for an 
untold number of deaths.

In this world view, steroid use is worse because it damages the game 
and a rich and cherished history that is a shared trust.

It's cheating, which is worse than self-destruction.

Others might view taking drugs to perform better -- and get richer -- 
as quintessential win-at-all-costs American drive. Recreational 
drugs, in contrast, are just slovenly escapism. Sort of a Puritan 
work ethic . on steroids.

Most folks likely believe both to be despicable. Some couldn't care 
less about either.

Ultimately, though, the motivation for using illegal drugs of any 
kind is simple: Life will be better if I use this drug, and that 
improvement, however temporary, makes it worth risking potential 
legal, personal and health problems.

Bias wanted to celebrate. Bonds wants to rule.

The cocaine and steroids eras share one feature: Players denied, 
denied, denied ... until they were caught.

In the '80s, numerous rumors circulated about heavy cocaine use 
throughout pro sports. The NBA, amid tales of Micheal Ray Richardson 
snorting his way through Manhattan, in 1983 became the first pro 
league to introduce drug testing, aimed at halting cocaine and heroin use.

Still, the players disingenuously scoffed. In 1984, Keith Hernandez 
threatened a lawsuit after Ken Moffett, a former executive director 
of the Major League Baseball Players Association, implied Hernandez 
used cocaine.

Moffett said he was sorry. Eighteen months later, Hernandez confessed 
his cocaine problem during a drug dealer's trial that implicated 
numerous major leaguers, calling it "the devil within me."

Denial, denial, busted.

Bias' horrible death became a positive turning point for athletes and 
cocaine. The last high-profile stars to grab headlines with cocaine 
charges while they were still playing were Michael Irvin in 1996 and 
Shawn Kemp and Ken Caminiti, both in 2001.

If recalling Bias' story isn't enough, recent headlines should remind 
us of the sad plight of many '80s superstars. Howe, a pitcher 
suspended seven times from baseball for cocaine and other problems, 
died after he rolled over his pickup truck in April (toxicology 
report pending). After being busted again for cocaine use in March, 
pitcher Dwight Gooden chose prison over probation to control his temptation.

Caminiti is the tragic transition figure. He confessed to using 
steroids during his MVP season in 1996. His struggles with cocaine 
ended with his overdose death in 2004.

Bias' death had a significant ripple effect.

Maryland cleaned house in its athletic department, including forcing 
out folksy coach Lefty Driesell. The school instituted drug testing 
and stricter academic guidelines. The program languished until 
recovering its mojo in the mid-'90s.

The Celtics, then the greatest franchise in sports, won their 16th 
title shortly before the 1986 draft. They haven't won one since.

"You won't find a more vivid example of a single tragedy altering the 
destiny of a sports franchise," wrote Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan.

Bias' death taught a hard lesson.

The steroid era hangs on more mundane human frailties. Hopefully, 
though, its lessons will be no less resonant.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman