Len Bias: A Mixed Legacy

In life, Len Bias was a transformative basketball player. In death, he’s a cautionary tale and an iconic symbol of poor decision making. Len Bias is also a cultural catalyst. 

In this episode, Len’s story and legacy are juxtaposed with those of many important figures in American cultural history…Emmit Till’s traumatic  tale, and racial injustice. The tragic young death of rapper Biggie Smalls&hel...

How do you define the legacy of a universally endeared and admired basketball player when he goes and throws it all away? How can you honor a young man whose youthful indiscretion placed the University of Maryland into a tailspin that lasted for almost a decade? How can a fan salute his vast achievements without acknowledging how his choice wreaked havoc on the world around him?

Those  questions are answered in this epis...

How does one family recover from the unexpected death of a son, primed to be one of the best basketball players of all time? How does one recover from the unexpected death of another son, who was as good a player as his older brother. What challenges does a young man face never knowing a father whose legacy haunts him?

Those questions are answered in this episode. This is the fourth episode of seven in section three of t...

Few were as profoundly affected by the death of Len Bias as members of the 1986 Maryland basketball team. For this episode, we will focus on the impact of his death on some of his teammates as well as his coach, Lefty Driesell.

This episode captures the essence of resilience as it relates to the death and legacy of Len Bias. Some managed to endure the torrential onslaught of challenges….and forge lives wiser and more sturdy than the...

In 1986 the Boston Celtics had won their third NBA title of that decade. Days later they picked Len Bias number two in the draft. But after Bias died two days after the draft, the Celtics dominance slowly faded. They would not win another NBA title for more than two decades. Further, listen to how Len’s death prompted the NBA to change its approach in dealing with drug abuse among its players.

About the narrator: Don Markus is a ret...

The death of Len Bias not only impacted the world of sports but impacted all of society. His high-profile death in the nation's capital added fuel to the fire of the War on Drugs in the ’80s. The creation of mandatory minimum sentencing and the disparity between sentences for powder and crack cocaine continue to affect Black and Latino communities to this day.

About the narrator: Jamal Williams is a University of Maryland, College P...

Through the mid-1980s, those working in Maryland athletics considered themselves members of a big family. But with the death of Len Bias, that family imploded and the department struggled for years. Find out how in this episode, A Dark Cloud.

About the narrator: Don Markus is a retired, former sports reporter for the Baltimore Sun who covered Maryland athletics since 1985. He is an adjunct professor of Journalism at American Univers...

The death of Len Bias devastated the Maryland basketball program. In this episode, Tragedy to Triumph, coach Gary Williams and others explain how Maryland endured sanctions and other challenges to win its only national title.

About the narrator: Rich Daniel is a 1985 graduate of the University of Maryland. He covered Len’s story as a television sports producer in the Washington, D.C. area. 

Maryland A.D. Dick Dull called it a Greek tragedy. At the end, Dull, Lefty Driesell, and football coach Bobby Ross all were gone. In this episode, Trauma and Transition, we relive the traumatic six months at Maryland following the death of Len Bias.

About the narrator: Kevin McNulty is a junior journalism major at the University of Maryland. He is the deputy sports editor at the school’s newspaper, The Diamondback, and a former inte...

After returning from Boston, Len Bias was ready to celebrate his selection by Boston in the NBA draft. In this episode, The Final Hours, we relive the last hours or so of his life. You’ll hear from teammates, family members, and others.

About the narrator: Dave Ungrady is the author of the book, Born Ready: the Mixed Legacy of Len Bias. He is the president of GoGrady Media and the Executive Producer of this podcast.

In this episode, Barnstorming & Boston - with the NBA draft looming and his college career over, how did Len Bias spend his time? He went Barnstorming, met a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, reveled in draft day, went to Boston, and spent lots of money.

The episode is narrated by Kevin Sheehan, a University of Maryland alumnus and the host of the podcast, the Kevin Sheehan Show.

Len Bias was a late bloomer to basketball. In this episode, Born Ready, you will discover how Len learned the game at “The Rec", Len’s development from a cry baby to a warrior, and how he became one of the best players in college history.

This episode is narrated by Rich Daniel, a 1985 graduate of the University of Maryland. He covered Len’s story as a television sports producer in the Washington, D.C. area. 

Len Bias: A Mixed Legacy is a multi-part series about the legacy of former Maryland basketball star Len Bias and the importance of making the right decision. Bias, a two-time player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, was picked number two by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA draft. Two days later he was dead from complications of a cocaine overdose. The death greatly impacted federal drug legislation, criminal justice r...