Powerful and sobering
BY LINDA SMITH HANCHARICK
WEST MILFORD — On Monday evening, a small group gathered at the newly opened Highlands Family Success Center on Union Valley Road. It was a regularly scheduled meeting of CASA - Community Against Substance Abuse - but what followed was the real highlight of the evening.
Councilmembers Ada Erik and Marilyn Lichtenberg, members of the township’s Health Advisory Board, brought with them a DVD of “Unguarded,” the story of Chris Herren, a former professional basketball player who is now seven years in recovery after being addicted to drugs most of his adult life.
Erik and Lichtenberg had seen Herren a week prior, giving his talk to nearly 900 people at William Paterson University in Wayne. That’s what he does now; he speaks throughout the country telling kids and adults his incredible story.
‘Unguarded’Raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, Herren was a phenom on the basketball court, and the basketball court was where it all happened in his hometown. The success of his team was riding on his young shoulders - and the whole town was invested. He, like many, started drinking and smoking pot as a freshman in high school.
He was recruited by some of the best college teams there are and ended up going to Boston College, a dream come true for this son of Massachusetts. In "Unguarded," he talks about his first week on campus where he is asked if he wants to do cocaine. He first said no. Then he said yes. "It opened doors for me I was not able to close for 15 years," he said.
His playing days were few at Boston College after falling and breaking his wrist in a game. He then failed two drug tests and was thrown out of BC.
Jerry Tarkanian, then the coach at Fresno State in California, gave Herren a second chance. He excelled on the court at Fresno State, but his drug use intensified. In his junior year, he went to rehab for 28 days and returned to Fresno State.
Still, he was drafted in the second round by the Denver Nuggets. He said it was the healthiest year of his life. The team was his support. But after the season, he returned home to where it all began for him; the same friends and influences that supported his addictions. He tried OxyContin and said he was immediately addicted.
When he returned to Denver for his second season, he learned he had been traded - to his beloved Boston Celtics. It was a dream come true for him on the surface. In reality, it sent him back to where he was most vulnerable and was the beginning of big time addiction. He now needed drugs just to function, even walking out of the Boston Garden, minutes before team introductions, to meet his dealer on the corner, wearing his Celtics warm-up.
His career took him all over the world, playing for teams in Italy, China and more. But the drugs were bigger than he was and when he could no longer get prescriptions for oxy, he turned to heroin. At its peak, his addiction was costing him $12,000 per month. He overdosed four times and has seven felonies, all drug related, on his record.
Getting cleanSince Aug. 1, 2008, Herren has been clean. He attends AA meetings and collects his chips, giving them to his son. He coaches and mentors kids, both on and off the basketball court. Part of his recovery is talking to students, athletes, members of the military, families. He gives more than 200 presentations each year and inspires many to keep drugs out of their lives or to get off drugs. In the documentary, he says that he too once sat in the audience seats, watching a 35-year-old man recount his mistakes. He didn’t listen; he said he’d never be that loser.
He receives countless calls for help after his presentations. In 2011, The Herren Project was created to answer those calls, increase education and public awareness on the dangers of substance abuse and to assist individuals and families through a combination of treatment navigation, educational initiatives, mentoring, and public awareness.
Powerful messageErik said he was probably the most powerful speaker she had ever seen. While the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary played Monday night, there was silence in the room. Erik said that same silence was at the William Paterson University presentation as he spoke in person just days before.
The township’s television channel 77 will show the documentary, although the schedule has not yet been announced. Erik said she is working on having the documentary available for the schools as well because she wants everyone to see it.
“It is powerful.”
September is National Recovery Month. Go to page 13 for more about it. To learn more about The Herren Project, go to www.TheHerrenProject.org. "Unguarded" is an ESPN documentary in the 30 for 30 series and is available on Netflix and other outlets. And tell us your thoughts at westmilfordmessenger.com.