Sending a message about the extreme impacts of substance abuse and the importance of finding healthy coping mechanisms, former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Chris Herren shared his powerful story of addiction and recovery with the Algonquin community on April 17.
Herren is from Fall River, Massachusetts, and began playing Division I college basketball at Boston College (BC), but was removed from the team after failing several drug tests. After attending rehabilitation, Herren received another opportunity to play at Fresno State University. His talent and dedication eventually led him to play for the NBA, and Herren played for the Boston Celtics during the 2000-2001 season. Throughout the entirety of his basketball career, however, Herren continued to struggle with substance abuse, which impacted every aspect of his life.
After Herren was no longer able to play in the NBA in 2001 due to his addiction and several felonies to his name, he became sober and, after many trials and tribulations, he has been for almost 17 years. He has devoted his life to helping others, especially middle and high school students. Herren now travels the country to share his story and has also founded the Herren Wellness Recovery Center at Jacob Hill, a rehabilitation center in Seekonk, Massachusetts.
“I could’ve gone in a different direction when telling my story, but this is where I want to be, where I love to be and where I hope to make an impact,” Herren said.
Herren hopes to inspire at least one student at every place he speaks. He wants students to walk out of his presentation and want to change their own lives, rather than feel sorry for him.
“I don’t want kids to just identify addiction as the end, but as the beginning,” Herren said. “We talk way too often about the worst day and we forget the first day. I want kids to walk out of that gym and think about who they are, their story and their direction, and where they want to go and their life. Rather than, ‘Wow, that guy had a crazy story.’”
Although Herren was exposed to drugs and alcohol in high school, it was in BC when he encountered more dangerous drugs such as cocaine, which completely changed the trajectory of his life.
“[Those days] opened doors for me that I was not able to close for the next 15 years,” Herren said. “Drugs had now taken everything that I had worked so hard for in my 18 years.”
He was sent to rehabilitation in 1998 after his junior year at Fresno State University to get his life back on track and focus on his love for basketball, but he questioned whether it was the right place for him.
“Why am I listening to these poor, pathetic people [share their stories about addiction]?” Herren said. “I will never be like them.”
After completing rehabilitation and college, Herren was drafted as a second-round pick in 1999 by the Denver Nuggets and then traded to the Celtics. It was during his time in Boston, however, that he became addicted to OxyContin, another powerful and deadly drug.
“I worked my whole life to be [a Celtics player], but all I could think about was how I could get in touch with this dealer,” Herren said.
Herren felt that the hardest part about his addiction was that no one knew about his struggles. He was living a lie, and his whole life revolved around keeping this lie going.
“I was walking around with this disease, a gorilla on my back, that no one knew about,” Herren said.
While he battled his addiction for many years, an overdose during his time on the Celtics in 2008 resulted in him being dead for 30 seconds. This completely changed his perspective, and he knew something must change. From this moment onward, he began to put the pieces of his life back together and felt responsible for sharing his story with the world to prevent others from going through what he did.
The school-wide assembly was sponsored by the Northborough Youth Basketball Association. The president of the association, Michael Koziol, first encountered Herren’s story while watching the 30 for 30 documentary “Unguarded,” centered around Herren’s struggles and recovery. Herren’s experiences moved him, so he reached out to mutual friends and an opportunity was presented to call Herren to speak to the community.
“I found his story powerful,” Koziol said. “ I always wanted to think that if I was in a position to help share that message with more people, I would do it. I’m glad to help share his story with everybody and hopefully everybody took something from it.”
Koziol understands the importance of having Herren speak to all grades, not just the upperclassmen, and believes the message that Herren shares can resonate with anyone.
“I think it seems like from when I was younger, kids are starting some of this stuff earlier than when I was in high school, so I felt like capturing the entire school would be the best kind of approach,” Koziol said.
Although initially reluctant to attend Herren’s presentation, junior Fiza Shakoor found Herren’s story truly eye-opening and thought-provoking.
“After seeing the video and learning about how he had been dealing with drugs for a while, I was intrigued and wanted to learn more,” Shakoor said. “It made me rethink all the stereotypes I had on people who do drugs. Some of them want to, but I think in his case, he used it as a coping mechanism. It really broadened my horizons.”
Sophomore Olivia-Green Seol also walked away from the presentation with a deeper understanding of addiction and was particularly struck by the impact that Herren’s addiction had on those around him.
“I just knew from listening to him that I don’t want to break the hearts of my family and friends like that,” Seol said. “It really made me realize that whatever I decide to do, it will impact the people around me, so I must be careful in how I live my life. Not just for myself but for my loved ones.”
Although Herren acknowledges that educating others about addiction is crucial to stopping them from heading down that path, he feels more must be done to make a monumental change.
“I truly believe that I have made a difference in the lives of people, but my story is not enough,” Herren said.
