The famous 30 for 30 documentary series is back on ESPN every Tuesday at 8 P.M., covering a wide variety of sports stories. A couple of weeks ago, I watched “Unguarded”, a documentary about Fall River, Massachusetts basketball standout Chris Herren and his battle with drugs that ultimately destroyed his basketball career. The film is directed by Jonathan Hock, who is infamously known for sports films such as “The Best That Never Was” and “Through The Fire” covering Marcus Dupree (one of the most sought after football recruits ever) and Sebastian Telfair (a basketball player that grew up in Brooklyn and had a tough childhood).
Chris Herren was a basketball god in Fall River, Massachusetts. He called his town the “Friday Night Lights” of basketball so you can obviously understand the pressure he must have felt to be perfect at all times. The party didn’t really start until after the game, if you catch my drift. Herren was stated as saying that he started boozing and smoking weed around the ages of 13 or 14. One person interviewed in the film also says that all he and his friends really knew was “to play basketball, drink and fight.” This strongly reminded me of my hometown, Scituate, Massachusetts. With my town being the most Irish in America (yes that is a true fact, look it up on Google), you can sort of understand how alcohol can flow faster than the Atlantic Ocean water that surrounds it, creating more MTV drama and darker drugs than you could imagine. Strangely, loyalty in friendships can be just about the same as it is to substances in both these places. This is why it didn’t shock me when Herren chose to go to Boston College over better schools such as Kentucky and Duke. Unfortunately, Herren got into cocaine while at BC and also got injured, which resulted in Herren blowing some more lines before he got kicked out.
Herren got another chance at Fresno State with great guidance from a coach, Jerry Tarkanian. Tarjanian (check these names-M.M.)really cared on a personal level by helping Herren numerous times with drug issues. Although still using, Herren got his stock up where he was projected to go to the NBA. He got drafted by the Denver Nuggets, and had a very healthy season where veteran Denver teammates made sure he stayed sober. By now, Herren is married to his high school sweetheart, Heather, and has a son. However, the following season Herren was traded to the Boston Celtics. Being back in the home state brought back the use of drugs. Herren got into using Oxycontin, and it got to the point where he couldn’t play unless he was high; this eventually ended Herren’s NBA career. He then went onto play overseas, but after discovering heroin, it pretty much went downhill. Basketball gradually and painfully ended, but drug abuse didn’t. Herren overdosed about three to four times. He passed out in a street at Modesto, California and couldn’t resist getting hammered about five minutes after the birth of his second child when he was forty days sober, causing him to re-lapse once again. It seemed like this ferocious addiction would eventually take Herren’s life, but I guess miracles do happen.
At age 36, Chris Herren is now 3 years sober. His family life seems to be stronger than ever, where he has re-patched his relationship with his son. He is a motivational speaker where he tells his story and seems to mesmerize the audience. This is shown in the film as shots continually cut back and forth to a rehab clinic, a high school, basketball camp and an army base with Herren periodically narrating his story. Herren has a gift to reach out to people finding peace he stated he never found while playing basketball. He doesn’t want the fame, money or game winning shot anymore. Instead, he wants to help kids fight inner demons that he has finally overcome. Coming from a place where I’ve personally seen drug abuse ruin a kid’s potential or even taken their lives, it’s satisfying to know that there are Chris Herrens in the world trying to change that. “Unguarded” will most likely have re-runs on ESPN and ESPN2 and will be available shortly on Amazon or iTunes.