We all have heard the stories of those with uber-potential whose careers and lives are shortened by drug or alcohol use. There is no poster child more symbolic than Len Bias.
Do you remember Len Bias? I sure do. He was one of the best basketball players in the country as a senior at the University of Maryland. He was the #2 pick in the NBA draft. However, before he could even play a game in the NBA, Len Bias was dead! As reported in www.wtop.com.
Now, his mother is speaking out in an effort to keep kids off of drugs.
As teens across the D.C. region prepare to take part in an anti-drug awareness program, the mother of a well-known athlete is telling her story of loss in an effort to get through to kids.
Her son, Len Bias, was a University of Maryland basketball phenom who died in 1986 from complications of a cocaine overdose. He passed away just two days after he was chosen as the second overall pick in the NBA draft.
Lonise Bias is sharing her perspective as a speaker at the third annual National Drug Fact Week sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
After going through the hardship of losing her son, Bias has made a career of reaching out to young people to impress upon them the importance of staying away from drugs.
I hear a lot of people speak on the issue of keeping kids off drugs and I have to admit, her views are amazing.
She preaches that it's up to parents to engage and involve themselves in the culture that their children are immersed in and be aware of the challenges kids face.
Bias understands that what worked in 1959 will not work in 2013. Actually, what worked in 2000 won't work in 2013. And we must change our approach in meeting their needs in terms of dealing with substance abuse.
She is an inspiration to all of us.