Chris Herren was a professional basketball player. He was a professional basketball player whose promising career was cut short due to substance abuse.
Six weeks ago, at least for one day, Chris Herren was also a marathoner. Along with the nearly 36,000 participants on April 21, the former Durfee High School standout was at the starting line of the 119th Boston Marathon, a year after the tragic bombings at the finish line claimed three lives and injured an estimated 264 more.
Herren completed the 26.2-mile race that stretches from Hopkinton to Copley Square in six hours, 17 seconds. While that time may not seem impressive, one has to take into consideration that he was running the event despite a nagging foot injury.
Herren was also there with another purpose in mind and it had nothing to do with how fast he got to the finish line. He was there representing one of the many non-profit organizations that are invited each year. He was there with a team of two other runners that raised $60,000 for The Herren Project, an organization he started to help those recovering from addiction.
“There are so many reasons to do the marathon, none more important than to honor the people that were affected by last year’s tragedy, an amazing opportunity and a special year,” Herren stated. “Obviously there is the charitable branch of the Boston Marathon that allows foundations like mine the opportunity to raise money. People were very supportive this year. We’ll help a lot of people because of that opportunity.”
“For me, what took me so long is that I stopped a lot,” he continued. “A high school would be in like Wellesley and there would be kids with signs, so I would stop to take pictures with them and hang out with the kids for a while. I would go through Newton and it was the same thing. It was a very supportive atmosphere. It was electric. I think this year was one of the most finished marathons in history. People weren’t letting each other drop. It was supportive from the sidewalks as well as the roads.”
For the last four years, Herren has offered his support to more than a half a million people on drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. He’s spent a considerable amount of time on the road, speaking at schools, prisons and wherever else his words will strike a chord. They’re words spoken from a person that has been there. From a person who has now been drug and alcohol free for nearly six years.
“Right now,” he said, “I am just trying to create better memories.”
On Wednesday afternoon, May 28, the 37-year-old Fall River native was at St. James School in Lincoln, R.I. He was talking to more than a dozen students of the Northern R.I. Collaborative (NRIC), a school that has helped hundreds of at-risks students get their lives back on track for the last 20-plus years.
In his heyday, Herren once starred for Durfee where he scored 2,073 career points and as a senior was named to the McDonald’s All-American Team and was the Gatorade Player of the Year. His skills took him to Boston College and Fresno State and onto a professional career where he played for numerous teams including his beloved Boston Celtics. It was a career where he played alongside the likes of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson. It was also career that lasted just seven years, coming to an abrupt close because of his substance abuse addiction.
“For me, as an 18-year-old, I walked into my dorm room at Boston College and tried one line of cocaine,” he said. “It was one line that took me 14 years to get off.”
Herren spoke for more than an hour to an emotional group of NRIC students, most of whom opened up to the one-time basketball great about their own struggles and those of their parents and loved ones. His words were heartfelt and to the point. He often offered his first-hand account of the dangers of substance abuse.
Herren suffered four overdoses from his heroin addiction. Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and OxyContin use were also prevalent during the dark times of his life. He had several near-death experiences due to his substance abuse and finally got the help he needed in the summer of 2008 when he entered a treatment center after a car crash nearly claimed his life, an accident that came shortly after filling his veins with heroin.
Herren gave examples of others whose lives were affected from the dangers of alcohol and drugs, including a story about three friends who were at a house keg party and how one became dangerously drunk and started throwing up. The two other friends brought him upstairs and had him rest on a bed. A few hours late, when they went to check on him, he was dead, after choking on his own vomit.
“One night,” Herren said, “three lives were ruined because of a keg of beer.”
One of the Northern R.I. Collaborative students talked about how hard it was for him to escape his drug addiction and how he feels guilty about his young cousin who has now ventured into drugs. Herren offered his words of encouragement that addictions can be conquered and told the students of the treatment that is out there, including his own organization. He mentioned his Project Purple, an anti-substance abuse initiative from The Herren Project that began in 2012 and is open to people of all ages but specifically targets school-aged youths and teenagers.
Herren also told the students how lucky they were to be at a school like the Northern R.I. Collaborative, and gave praise to their teachers and support staff.
“I spoke at a high school that cost $60,000 to go to. The kids said we are blessed to go to this high school. I think you kids are blessed. I think you have teachers here that truly want to be here to help,” he said. “This is like a second-chance high school. There is nothing wrong with second chances. I am all about second chances.”
Judging by the reaction of the engaged students, Herren’s words had a profound impact.
“Today was special,” he said. “Today was overdue for the kids. The person that put this on obviously knew the pulse of the school and those that would be affected. It really was a special day. I don’t expect change immediately, but I know they can look back one day and see a guy who was able to do it and maybe that will mean something.”