April 24, 2022 • 64 mins
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 episode.
This is the fifth episode of seven in section three of the series, focusing on the main aspects of Len’s legacy.
About the narrator: Kevin Sheehan is a University of Maryland alumnus and is the host of the podcast, the Kevin Sheehan Show.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This podcast is based in large part on the book
Born Ready Mixed Legacy of Lynn Bias. Some quotes are
narrated by podcast producer and book author David Grady from
interviews done for the book. Recordings for those comments were
not available. Yeah, I found out after calling lefty uh
(00:20):
that Lynn had never been inducted into the Maryland Basketball
Hall of Shame, And so I said, gold, what the heck?
You know? He deserves to be greatnised. I remember one
recently departed I'm now I said that he would have
his name removed from the Hall of Fame if Lynn
Bias got in. So that was how strong they felt
(00:42):
about it. Today here it would have been so sick
(01:05):
RUGI Land Bias fan here? Anybody? Yeah? Ever here? What
do you know about him? That he long time ago?
I think it was Yeah, yeah, they was the cast
me out coming. I remember every almost every game from
from Lenny. How Actually, the Lenny was actually the reason
(01:26):
why I attended to Maryland back. He made Maryland pride
that you uh, regular routine wife of n still goes
on sitely, my grand joy that didn't even know toward
(01:50):
his eyes on them, but he had an effect on
this and then the curse they gave of the world
a weak up calling. I'm speaking totally as a fan
of you know, there's nobody had moves a great impact
in me in terms of my favorite Maryland athlete of
all times. He's no doubt for me, it was Linn Bias. Now,
(02:11):
it was strictly based on his achievements at Maryland. It
was based on what he did on the court. You heard,
you know, comparisons to Michael Jordan, that he would have
been greater than Michael George. So he would have been
this as good as Michael Jordan get paid. I'm just
trying to pay respect. One tragic story. When Lynn Bias
(02:32):
passed away from using cocaine, My father came in the
house furious, furious, if you ever do this, I'll kill you.
You don't have time the overdose, I'll kill you. So
I always say, you know what, no drugs for me.
His story rings as a very very tragic story that
(02:56):
will be usually for a long long time to help
other people records how decisions and mistakes matter and land
on this episode of Len Bias. The mixed legacy fame
and honor, the struggle to accept the legacy of len Bias.
(03:19):
I think they are to put a statue of I
think he was a better college player than Michael Jordan's.
That's Lefty Drizzle, the former college coach for Len Bias.
There are no statues of Len Bias, no roads named
in his honor, no memorial tournaments or charitable events raising
money in his name. The Bias family has formed foundations
to raise money on behalf of Lenn and j Bias,
(03:42):
but public records show they generated little, if any revenue
and no wonder When considering the legacy of Len Bias,
questions arise. How do you define the legacy of an
All American basketball player, one with potential to be one
of the greatest of all time when he goes and
throws it all away? How can you honor a young
man whose youthful indiscretion placed the University of Maryland, the
(04:04):
school that helped make him a star, into a tail
spin that lasted for almost a decade. How can a
fan or even a friend of Len Bias salute the
vast achievements and joyful moments of his life without also
acknowledging how his choice one night wreaked havoc on the
world around him. You want to badly, but even thirty
five years later, some still struggle. One pioneer did find
(04:27):
a way before anyone else to honor Len's legacy more
than a quarter century after his death. And of course
I had only known Lend because he played in the
Capitol Classic, which is an all star game I started
in nineteen seventy four. He played in two, and his
brother j played in. It was for many of with
(04:49):
the Biases. And I had gone to Maryland or basketball
games at Coalfield House when he was playing and saw
some of his great games and was familiar with him.
That's Bob Gagan, a legend promoting basketball. Gagan started the
Capitol Classic in the mid nineteen seventies. It was an
annual all star game in the Washington, d c. Area,
(05:11):
featuring the top high school basketball players in the United
States against those from the DC area. It was one
of the first of its kind, so it's no surprise
that Gagan was the first person to induct Len Bias
into a Hall of fame. He was inspired in part
after reading the book Born Ready The Mixed Legacy of
Len Bias. Found out after calling Lefty Uh that Lenn
(05:37):
had never been inducted into the Maryland Basketball Hall of Fame,
and so I said, well, what the heck? You know,
he denursed to be recognized. Gagan is also the founder
of the Washington, d C. Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame.
It inducted its first class in eight Bias joined that
hall in I did it primarily because of the injustice
(06:01):
that he wasn't being recognized by the Maryland university that
he played for. And I wasn't looking to get a
lot of publicity from it. But I was doing it
because I thought it was the right thing to do.
The effort to afford Bias Hall of Fame recognition has
been a prolonged process. It was not only because of
the way he died from a heart attack after consuming
(06:21):
a large amount of very pure cocaine, but also when
he died less than forty eight hours after the Celtics
made him the second pick of the NBA Draft and
with Bias expected to be a prime time player in
the NBA. By the end of Bias was a member
of four halls of fame that includes the University of Maryland,
(06:41):
but it took more than a quarter century after his
death for all of that to start to happen and Maryland,
for one, is finally accepting the legacy of Bias. In
late November, Maryland Athletics released a documentary about the basketball
accomplishments of Bias, and on December one, it held its
first Len Bias Night at a Maryland basketball game. In
(07:03):
this episode, we will explain why it took so long
for Len Bias to receive his ultimate honors and how
it happened, and we will also provide comments about the
depth and breadth of his legacy from many who knew him.
Some did try to memorialize the legacy of Len Bias
(07:25):
before the Halls of Fame came calling. The Columbia Park
Civic Association represents the neighborhood where Bias grew up. John
Ware was a longtime neighbor of the Bias family in
Columbia Park. He saw Lennon j grow up and play
basketball in the neighborhood where was part of a group
that wanted to establish a one thousand dollar annual scholarship
(07:45):
award in Len's name. It would be given to someone
in the neighborhood to attend college, but Lenise Bias turned
it down. Here's podcast producer Dave and Grady where told
me his mother did not allow me to do it.
She did not tell me why. They are a very
private family. They don't take advantage of their name. An
(08:08):
alumnus of Northwestern High School tried to erect a statue
and lens on Or on the school's campus. Bias also
attended that school. The alumnus was Victor Ramirez, a Maryland
state senator at the time. The effort didn't go far.
He withdrew a fifty thousand dollar bond bill to fund
the effort. In Apparently, some people were concerned about recognizing
(08:29):
Bias as a positive role model. One was Melinda Miles,
then the mayor of the town of Mount Rainier, It's
located some five miles southwest of the Maryland campus. In
a news report, In Miles said she didn't want her
grandchildren to model someone who died of a drug overdose.
She seemed to soften her thoughts about it in an
(08:50):
interview with podcast producer Davon grady In. Miles told me,
there was a lot of discussion in my neighborhood about it.
I care what the message says to young people, but
life has changed. The people who are as peers if
you are doing it for them, maybe now, if you
want to create a legacy for his mother, that's a
(09:13):
different ball game. Ramirez was a big fan of Bias
for years. He explained the reason for the statue in
a Washington Post story in quote, I grew up with
a Len Bias poster in my room. He represented someone
who could make it. He was one of us. I
think it was a tragedy, but you can't allow that
(09:33):
one night to take away from who he was, what
he stood for. I think he stood for giving people
hope and giving kids who grew up in the neighborhood
just like his hope that education the University of Maryland,
that college was possible. End quote. Two restaurants in College
Parker forever linked to the legacy of Bias, A jersey
(09:54):
of Bias hung on a wall in an enclosed class
frame and R. J. Bentley's for years. Then one day
in the early nineteen nineties, it was gone. It was
removed from the frame. Bentley's owner, John Brown, had offered
as much as several thousand dollars for the return of
the jersey. Brown told some Marilyn lacrosse players at a
Maryland football tailgate party that whoever found the jersey would
(10:15):
receive a one fifty dollar bar tab at Bentley's. A
few weeks later, Brown received an unmarked Brown envelope in
the mail. Inside was bias is Jersey. A loyal customer
later told Brown that her brother and two of his
friends stole the jersey and rotated possession of it. John
Brown told me they put it up wherever they were living.
(10:39):
One would have it for a while. Something bad. What
happened to him? They had handed to the next guy,
and something bad what happened to that guy? So they
got fed up with it and send it back. This
could be an urban myth, the curse of the Biased Jersey.
Mike Cogburn was the manager on duty at town Hall
Liquors in College Park when Bias stopped by a few
(11:00):
hours before he died. Cockburn advised Bias on his liquor purchase,
suggesting a bottle of Kognac. He talked with Bias about
the Celtics in the NBA, and Bias autographed the purchase receipt.
A short time later, Cockburn was featured in a local
television news report about Biased stopping by the liquor store.
About six months later, Cogburn was fired from town Hall.
(11:23):
He claims it was due in part to the media
attention he brought to the bar in liquor store. The
bar owner was not pleased when the media calls didn't stop.
Cockburn then moved to St. Croix, where he stayed until
Hurricane Hugo devastated the island in nine. After that time's
got so tough that Cockburn was forced to sell the
(11:43):
receipt for just two hundred dollars. Lefty Grizelle was among
those invited to attend the induction of Len Bias into
the Washington d C. Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame in
May two one twelve. Drizzle was Biasedes coach. He had
been inducted into that same hall a few years earlier,
(12:06):
but this time he couldn't attend. Here's Bob Gagan, the
founder of the event. I wanted him to be there
because I thought he had a great relationship, you know,
with Lynn and would like to be there when we
inducted him. And he said his his health didn't allow
him to travel that particular night that we were doing it,
(12:27):
But he said, I would love to stand you a
letter and if you could read it at the event,
I would appreciate it, so I gave it to our
host that night. The master of ceremonies was Chris Knock,
currently the color analyst on Maryland basketball radio broadcasts. Nacki
recalled that Griselle wrote a long and heartfelt letter from
(12:49):
Grizzle to his fallen star. What I remember was the emotion.
I also felt like it was a very cathartic letter
for Lefty to right, and it was it was clear
in the letter the verbage, just how emotionally, was still
about Lamb. I just felt like left he was unburdening
(13:11):
himself of you know, something that had weighed on him
for a long long time. It was not it wasn't
a one page it wasn't a three paragraphs and I'm done,
Hey had a right night at the Hall of Fame
kind of thing. It was not that at all. It
was heartfelt, it was emotional, It was I mean, it
was something Knack. He grew up in the Washington, D c. Area.
(13:34):
He was an assistant coach at American University when Bias
played at Maryland. He later became the school's head coach.
Knocks among many who wondered why Bias had not been
selected to a Hall of Fame until well, I mean,
my first thought, to be quite honest with you, is
what took you so long? I was fortunate I had
a chance, at a very young age and my coaching
(13:56):
career to watch Len play almost every day for about
three months leading up to that NBA draft. I was
working at American Ye. He was working out in that
gym every single day, and he was working out with
a bunch of NBA guys and a bunch of really
great college players. Uh. George Sound was loaded at the time,
(14:17):
as was Maryland, and he was superman. You know, he
was so much better than everybody else. Griselle was not
the only notable no show at the ceremony. Another was
a member of the Bias family. Here's Bob Gagan. I
thought it would be proper to invite his mom, who
was making a name for herself in Prince George's county
but going around talking about her son and and and mhm,
(14:45):
the problems that that she saw with young people, uh,
that she was trying to correct, And I thought I
would reach out, but I got no response. Gagan had
hoped a member of the Bias family or Grizel himself
could accept the honor unlensed behalf with no luck. He
then chose to ask Dave and Grady, the executive producer
(15:08):
of this series. He's also the author of the book
on bias that inspired this podcast series, and Grady was
more than a bit surprised. I told Bob it was
an honor, but I wasn't sure I deserved it. I
wasn't sure how it would be received. At that time.
There seemed to be some reluctance still to accept the
premise of the book. It dealt with so many uncomfortable issues.
(15:32):
And I recall a response after I posted something about
it in Facebook or local broadcaster or who I won't
name and who was a big Bias fan and went
to Maryland, said really as if he was surprised as well.
But it's hard to say no to Bob Gagan. He's
done so much for others, So in large part I
did it out of respect for him. I'm Grady recalls
(15:55):
a somber crowd during his presentation. I purposefully wanted to
keep it brief, and I didn't want to embellish the
good or the bad. I really wanted to explain the
reality of his legacy and acknowledge his life and accomplishments.
I vividly recall sad expressions on many faces. That's not
(16:16):
typical when you're honoring someone in such a way. One
that comes to mind is prominent broadcaster James Brown. He's
a d C native and he's a close friend of
the Bias family. He looked very somber, and I vividly
remember at the end there was beauted applause, and I
understood why it must have felt odd for them to
(16:36):
applaud such a presentation by someone with no real direct
connection to the family. KNACKI gives unready credit for helping
keep alive the memory of Bias as well as the
impact of his legacy by writing the book that forms
the basis of this podcast series, Back to Too. You
asked me if I felt like we were sort of
the forerunners in terms of starting that continuum that we
(16:59):
talked about. I really think Dave has a big hand
in that. You know, he's a lumb He wrote a
pretty comprehensive book. It's not one of those he understood.
It was not a cut and dried look at a
guy who made an awful choice one night. There are
a lot of angry different angles to this, and I
think that that sort of thing is what is what
matters as much as anything. And I'm not gonna say
(17:23):
he beat the drum because he doesn't impress me as
a guy who beats a drum, but um, I would
say he he did a great job of increasing awareness.
I think a lot of people don't even want to
talk about it. We realized that we were past the
point of the wound and and that, you know, we
had to sort of come to terms with us. And
part of coming to terms with that is recognizing who
(17:45):
Lenton was and for all those faults, he was an
absolute gem of a basketball player. And so I think
Dave has a big hand in terms of, uh, you know,
how that all that all happened. The first Hall of
Fame induction ceremony for len Bias ended with a dubious
and unique active tribute. Gagan had placed placards of all
(18:08):
the inductees on a stage. At the end of the night,
all but one remained, so I had five easels up there.
They were both mostly handing solder pictures, and I put
that on the stage to decorate the stage a little bit.
And after the event was over. Somebody took the len
(18:28):
Bias uh who walked off with it? I still have
the remaining ones other than Lens, and I don't really
know what happened to it. I know I never got
it back. The ex Affinity Center in College Park, Maryland,
is the epicenter of University of Maryland athletics. It's the
(18:50):
home venue of the men's and women's basketball teams, and
other sports. Athletics offices are housed in the facility as well.
It also features a temple of Terrapints tradition and a
triumph known as the Maryland Walk of Fame. It's on
a wall that stretches about a half length of a
football field. It features dozens of larger than life images
(19:10):
of the best athletes to ever wear a Terps athletic outfit.
In the middle of the wall, it's easy to notice
two of Maryland's all time great basketball players from the
early nineteen seventies. They are All America's Len Elmore and
Tom McMillan, standing side by side. A few feet to
the left is the headshot of Louis Bozi Burger in
(19:32):
NY one. Burger became Maryland's first basketball All America to
the right, you notice the Terrapins mascot to Studo, He's
holding a sign that reads fear the Turtle. Next to
him stands Len Bias. He's wearing the iconic gold Maryland
jersey with the blazing red number thirty four. His arms
are raised triumphantly until It was one of the only
(19:55):
two concrete reminders of his career at Maryland. The other
was his banner hanging in the arena's rafters. That year,
Bias was finally inducted into the University of Maryland Athletics
Hall of Fame. Bias was eligible to receive induction in
nine six, but the way Bias died, related to a
drug overdose, created caution among many who had to say
(20:17):
in his selection. I think every year for a number
of years Len's name would come up and we probably
would spend an hour in the meeting talking about lens nomination.
That's Steve Halick from two thousand five to Haleck was
a member of the selection committee that picked inductees for
Maryland's Hall of Fame. He supported Lens selection, but he
(20:39):
was also among the minority. Another was Laura Lemire, a
Hall of Fame inductee in two thousand four, the Hall
of Fame Selection Committee had used one of its by
laws to exclude bias. It reads, nominees must have good
character and reputation and not have been a source of
embarrassment in any way to the university. And there seemed
(21:00):
to have seemed to have been a generational divide. Um
I'm going back to now would have been in my fifties.
It seemed like those that were in their upper sixties seventies,
we're just totally against it because he died of a
drug overdose UM, whereas I know Laura and I would
be allied in in UM arguing for it. Lamier, now deceased.
(21:26):
Compared to bias selection to Babe Ruth being inducted into
the Baseball Hall of Fame, Ruth was known for his
borish and abusive behavior off the field, but he made
it to Cooperstown on the strength of his playing feats.
Laura told me, should we really be paying tribute and
honor to someone of Ruth's character with bias some are
(21:46):
looking at after his death. You have to look at
his career and what he accomplished. The selection committee is
part of Maryland's m Club, a group of former Maryland
Letter Winners and Coaches that supports programs for athletes at
the school. Haylock is a former terms wrestler, and he
served as club president in the nineteen nineties. Haylock called
(22:07):
Bias the six d pound guerrilla in the room. It
never went to a vote that I recall, or if
it did, you know, he didn't get in. UM. And
it was every year for a number of years. I
remember one recently departed alumni said that he would have
his name removed from the Hall of Fame if Lenn
Bias got in. So that was how strong they felt
(22:30):
about it. The person who made the threat just happened
to be one of the most revered quarterbacks in Maryland history.
In nineteen fifty two, he was a unanimous first team
All America and a runner up for the Heisman Trophy.
But I mean the one that said he would not
he would resign if it was Jack Scarlatt carried a
lot of weight. It was extremely frustrating. I mean, it's
(22:52):
an athletic Hall of Fame. You have the arguably the
best basketball player in Maryland's history. Um, if you had
gone on, you know, and I think we're all looking
forward to you know, seeing him in the NBA. If
you'd gone onto a distinguished career in the NBA and
then died of a drug overdose, they probably would have
voted him into the Hall of Fame. But it was just,
(23:14):
I mean, it was it was tragic the way it happened,
but it was just they implied that he was unworthy
because of that. And I guess a letter of the
law with the rules depend on how you said brought
this honor. And part of it was I think because
of the reaction to the university and how the athletic
department suffered in the aftermath of Len's death that I
(23:39):
think um steal some of those against him. Those on
the committee supporting a biased selection gained a stronger voice
after others who were against it started to leave the committee.
Frank Costello was Maryland's head track coach in the nineteen
seventies and was an All America high jumper at Maryland
in the nineteen sixties. He's a member of the Hall
of Fame and a past member of its selection committee.
(24:02):
And I can understand both sides of the picture on that.
I can really uh to see where some people may
have had a hard time going past the the drug
problem and so forth like that. But I remember those meetings, yeah,
(24:23):
and I remember Jack wasn't happy and and uh, so forth.
It's hard sometimes to divorce from the drug problem to
the super athlete. Here's this individual right in the middle,
and I think that's where the problem was. Jerry Bechtel
played basketball at Maryland in the late nineteen fifties. In
early nineteen sixties, he's a past member of the selection committee.
(24:47):
Bechtel offered a prescient proclamation about a decade ago. Bechtel
told me it would not surprise me that sooner or
later he will get in there. There are enough people
talking about it. Lena is a good example why some
kids now are not using drugs. It was a slow
build in the early two thousand's toward a Maryland Hall
of Fame induction for Bias. Podcast producer David Grady recalled
(25:10):
an incident in related to his book that reflected the
department's reluctance to accept the Bias legacy. I had set
up a signing in a party room and then Comcast
Center in a room called Heritage Hall. It was hosted
by the Fast Breakers. There were a basketball fan club
that supports Maryland. The night before the event, they called
(25:31):
me and said they had to cancel. Apparently athletics wanted
no part of the book, and Grady saw that reluctance.
Change in he explains a chance meeting with then athletic
director Kevin Anderson that signaled lens eventual Hall of Fame
induction at Maryland. It was in the spring of Maryland
(25:53):
was hosting an nt double a seminar on campus. I
was there and I met Anderson for the first time.
I introduced myself to him, said I was a former
trip athlete and author of a book about Bias. He
responded saying he read the book and then he said,
we've got to get Len Bias in the Hall of Fame.
I agreed with him. I had advocated for Len's Hall
(26:15):
of Fame induction since the book was published. Kevin then
reached in his pocket and handed me something. He said,
take this. It was a Maryland Challenge coin. On one
side was Testudo, the school mascot. On the other it
read presented by the athletic Director for Excellence. He jokingly
(26:36):
explained that if I met him again and did not
have the coin with me, I had to buy him
a drink. I thought there was more to it and
later asked him why he gave it to me. He responded,
for the work you are doing for Lenn Bias. At
that time, I felt the mood and athletics related to
Bias was about to change, and it did. A few
(26:58):
months later, Maryland announce Lend would be inducted into its
Hall of Fame, and we are absolutely thrilled. Though some
people have said it should have been done. The Bias
family is thrilled, and so many of our friends are
(27:19):
thrilled that this time has come. That's Lenise Bias speaking
on the Rock Newman television show in early October. Later
that month, Bias was finally inducted into Maryland's Athletics Hall
of Fame. Was Land us All Moments later the events
(28:02):
m C introduced Len's parents and the us. It is
(28:23):
needed on in a privileged here to see and to
be a part of. This is score occasion some of
the best times. And I don't like we're spent out
here over at Coldfield House watching Lend lay ball. But
I can remember when I late in the floor and
cried and bag tonight when my second son nine, I
(28:46):
didn't know how my two rogaining children we're gonna make it.
How my husband and I were going to pay it.
So here we are today with five brand children. And
so one of the things that I could back to
impress upon the audience tonight is this is to redeem
the time because during the time of suddenly, everything is
(29:10):
happening so quick and so fast, and I will just
tell you, just let your loved ones know how you
feel about them, show love and encouragement, because this is
not the time not to have time. We stay here
today for twenty six, twenty eight years saying that there
(29:30):
is like a death. Abby had the good life, after
you had your night there after you had life after death.
Then the best is yet to come. And we are
here today experiencing history. When the best coming from the
Bias family today here at the University of Growing has
(29:52):
left by is this pain is inducted the dis I
thought it was well disold. I mean obviously a huge,
huge error and judgment took place and he paid the
(30:13):
ultimate price with his death. That's Mike Locksley, Maryland's head
football coach. He imparts a message of forgiveness related to
honoring the legacy of Bias but I also don't feel
as though um, that error that he made, which we
all make mistakes in our life, should prevent a guy
(30:34):
that had such a huge impact on Maryland Athletics, Maryland basketball,
this community, um to be given his second chance post
mortal um per se and ideal with kids on a
daily basis eighteen or two year olds that will and
do make mistakes, and a lot like as a parent
(30:56):
when your kids make a mistake, do you instim from
your family? Do you say you're done because you made
a mistake. Acceptance of the Len Bias legacy increased gradually.
His image was featured on promotional materials when Maryland celebrated
a hundred years of basketball in twenty nine that included
a ticket stub for a game that year that would
(31:19):
have seemed unimaginable just ten years earlier. Since his induction,
Len has been featured in university publications. On the thirty
fourth anniversary of his death, in June, Maryland's Alumni magazine
published a cover story called Remembering thirty four for its
Winter two edition. Maryland's Athletics Magazine published an updated version
(31:40):
of a story about Bias. It first appeared in teen
and recognized his accomplishments as a player. That's not all.
In late one, lenn was inducted into the National Collegiate
Basketball Hall of Fame. Former Maryland coaches Lefty Grisel and
Gary Williams are also members of that Hall of Fame.
(32:00):
Only one of their terms player is in as well,
and that's Tom McMillan. He feels few words pleased that
lends induction into the Hall of Fame, as Driselle, the
former coach for both McMillan and Bias, and I don't
think that Lenny's mistake should deny him, you know, credit
for his great basketball career. That's just my view, and
(32:24):
you know, I know coach shares that view, but I mean,
it certainly has marred his reputation and it's left a
big chip on his shoulder for years. Hey, he'll never
get over it, I mean, And so he pushes hard
to make sure that when he's so honored. He doesn't
think the athletic department does enough, not promoting this enough.
(32:45):
He thinks this is a big deal and they need
to really make it a big deal. They did. In
late November, Maryland Athletics released a documentary about Lennon. It
focused primarily on his legacy as a basketball player and
had only one men of how he died, maybe one
of the best players ever to play at the University
(33:05):
of Maryland said, that's the guy, you know. He was unbelievable.
Unfortunately for me, I had a coach against him for
four years in the A c C. A player. Lenn
Bias was not a great player. He was a transcendent player.
He's one of the best players I've ever seen. I
(33:25):
was a student here when Leonard was a god on
campus and um growing up a turf band He's he
was the guy then and remains my all time favorite term.
He was the best damn player. He was the best.
(33:48):
A couple of weeks later, Maryland basketball stage Lenn Bias
Night during a home basketball game against Virginia Tech. It
was the first time Maryland dedicated one game Tobias. At
the game, some four thousand Len biased jerseys in gold
with red lettering and trim were handed out to students
a few hours before the game. Hundreds of students lined
(34:09):
up outside the arena to be the first to claim
them first. A group of female students who's a Len
Bias fan here anybody, Yes, what do you know about
him that I think? Here's Jacob Corba, a student from Eldersburg, Maryland.
(34:33):
He was a great player. People said at the time
that he could have been like Well in college. He
could have been better than Jordan's decided to celebrate with
some friends and then that uh and then too well.
Inside the arena, a fan was wearing a different biased jersey.
It had a white background with red letters. It's Rob
Mitchell of Elicant City. Mitchell claims he played against Jay
(34:55):
Bias and pickup games when he was a student at
Maryland from I've had it for about fifteen years now,
um and is one of my classic years. I remember
every almost every game from from Lenny. I actually the
Lenny was actually the reason why I attended to Maryland back.
(35:17):
He made Maryland pride uh a regular routine. I enjoyed it.
It was the battles against U n c S, the
battles against uh Duke, the championship from eighty four I
remembered distinctly like it was just Maryland's players. Even were
(35:37):
long sleeve versions of the giveaway jersey as warm uptops.
Johnny Holiday had a courtside seat at the game. He's
been Maryland's play by play announcer for football and basketball
for more than forty years. And it's a whole ballgame now,
(36:00):
a whole new generation of fans, and I think that's
the best tribute to him. It's to see people walking
around at games at other events, what number thirty four
and Bias in the back of their jersey. Chris Snaki
was an Exfinity Center that night, working with Holiday as
the radio broadcast analyst. None of those kids were alive
(36:21):
when Lenn was alive. It was an awesome momentum to
have those people, I think, even the kids who weren't
a lot to understand the significance of Lenn his life
and his death and uh and and the fact that
the Bias has got to walk out on that court
honestly wasn't called field House where Len had played, but
it was. It was, you know, the Gary Williams court
(36:44):
on Exfinity Centerson. To to have them walk out and
be recognized like that, it was an emotional minute or so.
And you know, I cannot remember it can't speak to
exactly what kind of ovation he got in two thousand twelve,
but I can speak to what happened at Exfinity, and
it was brilliant, It was awesome, it was well deserved,
(37:06):
it was extremely respectful, and it was loud. It was
no longer when was the day. It's a biggat scene forever.
James the port tonight, this was the name, says Spies.
(37:40):
James and Lenise Spias held a press conference after the game.
Linis Bias has spoken often publicly about Len's death and legacy,
but it wasn't until his death that I realized who
he was and the impact that he had made in
the sports were and how his death impacted the entire
(38:05):
UH Earth. I'm a firm believer that Lenn was a
seed that went down into the ground to bring forth life.
And and to see the hardship that the Bias family endured,
not only through death but the death of Lenn, but
forty two months later with the death of our son Jay,
(38:30):
and then to see us come full circle, not running
away from where the pain was, but standing until the
healing took place. And to be here today showing that
just my husband and I standing out on the floor
through the death of Lenn is a message that you
(38:53):
can make it. James Bias has rarely talked publicly about
lenn His words then provided a more pro found impact
at the press conference then those of his wife, which
based on the revered reputation of Lenise Bias is saying
something see no recognized after thirty or four years, going
(39:14):
very five years, and that a new receptive crowd. Things
have changed. You have a whole brando faculty. Those people
who were uh students then thoughts and I have stolded
now so I'm probably in and right now with the
crowd of it. I mean, you know, for real, and
(39:36):
so that you think back on the legacy of Land
and what do you accomplish here and in joyment and
then you many of those people were regular students, just
like Land was. And we need to not forget that
that was a student at the University of Morality. Just
didn't just pop up and he had gone. Now, he
(39:58):
was a student just like those kids that n up
down doing the same thing he did before he came
to the school. So that's what impressed me. And I
was looking at everyone on him and I said, look
at that, look at them. He was just like that.
My my sons, my sons, and my daughter was just
(40:20):
like them. Up there and there was a bit jumping
up down and and and brouting for Maryland. So that's
what I was thinking about it. And and each one
of them I could see a part of him because
they're just like it. And that gave me hope about
the future. All those people I did. We never know
(40:42):
one day one of them might be president and may
be a president of this university. That's our hope, so
that I'd still have hope that life going on. We've
been successful at and at many things we appempt into,
uh yet done, and the life of Lenn still goes on.
(41:04):
The legacy Lends not only doesn't have them still my
grandchildren that Lynn didn't even know when he never put
his eyes on them, but he had an effect on him.
I have three um grandchildren to graduated college. They weren't
(41:26):
he born them, You understand what I'm saying. He never
saw them, but he had an effect on them because
we taught them about there, and they're awful and who
he was and his legacy, and that's why you see
after all these years, people still talking about lend bias
on the media and then the conversations everywhere. So I'm
(41:50):
very proud of it. What do you accomplished here? And
I'm I'm just proud of everyone who supports him, and
I'm standing up and cheer, as my husband said, seeing
the sea of jerseys out there and the young people
(42:11):
cheering and jumping up and down. And then when we
were passing through the crowd, people touching us and thinking us.
And I understand that when we grieved, as I said earlier,
for Lenn there were so so many people that grieved
and their people that are still breathing over his death.
(42:38):
Len Bias Night marked a departure from the old way
of thinking about bias at Maryland no longer a burden,
but rather a blessing to be accepted if you can
offer insight. Is deeply on the evolution of acceptance of
bias at Maryland as head football coach Mike Locksley, he
grew up in Washington, d C. As a Len Bias
fan and is seeing the change within Terps Athletics, the
(43:00):
folklore that goes along with it, and his uh legacy
just continues to grow with these generations because it's the unknown.
I'm speaking totally as a fan and not as the
coach of the football team that you know, there's nobody
that had more of a great impact on me in
terms of my favorite Maryland athlete of all times, you know,
(43:22):
there's no doubt for me it was Lenn Bias. Two
more Halls of Fame of honored Bias. The DC Sports
Hall of Fame inducted Bias in perhaps Len's highest honor
happened in late November. That's when he was inducted into
the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Here's part of
his introduction. Thirty five years later, the memory of Len
(43:43):
Bias and his start of at Maryland still stands strong.
What we're here tonight to do is to celebrate the
life and the playing career at the University of Maryland
of Len Bias, which was unbelievable and for those that
obviously aren't old enough to have witnessed it, it was
(44:03):
something special. Kevin Henderson was well aware of the Lenn
Bias story. He was a student at the University of
Kansas when Bias died, and he's been a member of
this selection committee at the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of
Fame for some fifteen years. We really became more aware
of Land and his story as young men when thank
(44:24):
you for reminding me the other day. Peter Jennings uh
came on the World News tonight and it was the
lead story, and I remember seeing that, and that's when
I became more aware of Lynn and and and his
kind of his his short history as a college basketball
(44:47):
player and and everything that happened in that tragedy. But
Lynn's death was a shock because he looked like us.
He looked like us, He was our age, we can relate.
So it was a shock in that way. It's like, oh, man,
(45:08):
here's a guy who's, you know, basically on top of
the world, and his potential was long, and you know,
now this happens that he's gone. Henderson is also the
CEO of the College Basketball Experience, which manages its Hall
of Fame. He says discussions about Len's induction focused only
(45:31):
on one aspect of his career, obviously the tragedy that
befelled him. Um, it was a topic of conversation during
his discussion, but I don't believe it had any bearing
on him getting into the Hall or not. It was
so it wasn't the list do it because we feel
(45:52):
sorry for that bias or you know, with you know,
this whole drug thing. And no, it was based on
his Uh. It was based on what he did on
the court. Uh and and and you often heard during
those deliberations. You heard, you know, comparisons to Michael Jordan's
(46:13):
that he would have been greater than Michael Jordan or
he would have been just as good as Michael Jordan's.
A lot of that talk was going on how phenomenal
of a basketball player he was. And and I'm talking
guys who have been in the game on that committee
for fifty years, and how they remarked about him as
(46:35):
a player. What is the most profound part of the
legacy of Len Bias. Was he a savior or a villain,
a cautionary tale or wasted talent? What is the big
takeaway from his story? Does his laws still trigger sadness today?
(46:56):
What follows is a sampling of responses we've compiled from
as we talked to for this podcast series, as well
as others profound perspectives on Len's legacy. We start with
Shaquille O'Neal, a four time NBA champion and a member
of the Nay Smith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He
was fourteen years old when Lynn Bias died. This comes
(47:17):
from an interview on The Jordan's Harbinger Show. One Tragic Story.
When Lynn Bias passed away from using cocaine, my father
came in the house furious, furious, if you ever do this,
I'll kill you. You don't even have time, O it does,
I'll kill you. So I always say, you know what,
no drugs for me. Bryan Strouse is a soccer writer
(47:41):
for si dot Com. He grew up in Washington, d C.
And watched Bias play basketball on television. Strouss found a
deep connection with the death of Bias, and so it
became this reflex that whenever Coke Kaine was referenced in
any way or or or mentioned or seen, the immediate
(48:04):
like electrical cognitive response was len Bias and len biases death,
and this is what this drug does, and this is
the havoc and chaos that this drug can cause. And
so it was the red light kind of the metaphor
like stop immediately, like an instantaneous repulsion, because to me,
(48:26):
cocaine represented um everything that happened to this guy who
obviously I never met and had no connection to and
barely understood who he was. But like I said, I
knew He was this larger than life figure in Washington sports.
I love sports, and it was the only way that
I could comprehend his death when I was eleven, UM
(48:47):
was to connect it to the drug. And that connection
has existed ever since. Robert DuPont was the president of
the American Council of Drug Education when Bias died in
the nineteen seventies. He was the director of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse and a white House drugs are
He sees Len's legacy as a profound marker that changed
(49:07):
the perception of cocaine. Oh my god, I think that
that that that death was not in vain. Uh. That
death was a marker of a changed attitude in our
society and the world. Uh. It was. It was a
very dramatic switch that went on. And I think about
it very much as a legacy of Len Bias. Uh
(49:28):
that we're all grateful for We're all uh in his
debt uh and and gave a meeting to his life
that otherwise wouldn't have been there, and that was to
unmasked cocaine as a danjurious drug. Bonnie Bernstein was a
Maryland gymnast in the late eighties and early nineties at
(49:49):
a time when Maryland athletics endured drastic changes. She later
became a network sportscaster. It's important to keep history alive
because we have to keep the anti drug message alive.
The reality is the kids need to hear that message.
(50:10):
They're not gonna listen if it's coming from a parent.
They're probably not going to listen if it's coming from
a coach or an administrator. Those messages resonate most strongly
when they're coming from people they admire and want to emulate.
And while len Bias has gone, his story is still strong.
(50:31):
And when his story is shared, and when you think
about who len Bias could have been, that means something.
That means something to kids, whether they're playing basketball or football,
or soccer or across or gymnastics, they want to be
the very best. Len Bias was one of the best
(50:52):
in college basketball, and he was projecting to be one
of the best to ever play the game in the NBA,
and he never may had that champ because of the
choices he made, and for that reason alone, we need
to keep his story alive. Joanne Borzakian was a marketing
(51:12):
representative for reebak who was working with lenn when he died.
She sees the legacy of Bias for what he was,
not what happened because of how he died. For me,
it's everything he had accomplished and all that he could
have accomplished. I think he had the potential to make
others great. I just feel so sad. I feel so
(51:33):
sad that we didn't get to see all the greatness
that he brought up to that point. I just wonder
what was in that Genie bottle ready to be unleashed.
Johnny Dawkins was the college Player of the Year in
nineteen six and duke. Like Bias, he is from the
Washington d c. Area. He played against Bias in high
school and college. Definitely a sadness in a d m V.
(51:57):
That was definitely a sadness in that community. Uh, you know,
probably still is, to be quite frank. I mean just
you know, just thinking about who we would have become.
I think everyone carries that you know with them, and
I mean I think sometimes we overlook the fact that,
you know, generation of players that have come behind him.
I mean, who knows that that would have happened to
one or more of those players if it hadn't been
(52:18):
for the story of Lynn Bias too. I think he
saved a lot more lives that that will never know
because of his story and the fact that we've kept
his story alive the way that Desmond kept alive. Earlier
in this podcast series, Lenn Elmore compared the legacy of
Bias to a Greek tragedy for all involved. Elmore was
an All American at Maryland in the mid nineteen seventies
(52:39):
a Land Bias. His name will always be associated with
Maryland because of his greatness as an athlete, but it
should also be associated with Maryland because of the tragedy
and humanity that's associated with it as well. Yeah, this
is the idea of a of a star in full
bloom that ultimately had that had that flame doust by
(53:06):
a mistake, and this is not the only kind of
mistake that you can make. To doubst that flame and
to recognize that no matter how good you are, no
matter how good you think you are, you know you're vulnerable.
And the idea is to recognize little vulnerabilities now before
you know they have a chance to to catch up
(53:27):
to you. As I said, doubst that flame to you
know limit your trajectory. UM, you know, to to place
a ceiling on your altitude. And similar to iconic actors
and musicians who died young, from James Dean did, Jim Morrison,
bias has become larger in depth than he was in life.
(53:47):
Here's Chris Knack, Marilyn Basketball's radio analyst. It's the same
reason why UM people talk about James Dean, John Kennedy.
You know, it's a it's a it's a wonder kind
done young way way way before their time, and it's
a I think it's the age old thing and and
part of it is that promise unfulfilled. Here's more from Dawkins,
(54:10):
the men's head coach at the University of Central Florida.
You know, we all are in a position where we
you know, we're not invincible. And not to tell my
players that to this day, I said, you know, you
guys walk around like like your Superman, but you know
we really aren't. We all are vulnerable and we all
can said come to something and uh again, you know,
(54:31):
you think about Leneya's situation because it's no more powerful
explosive person and player than he was during his time.
And he's and he was still in his early twenties,
and so that can happen to him, it can happen
to anybody. Jeffrey Harding is a Maryland basketball fan who
was also a prosecutor in the Brian triple trial related
to the death of Bias. His real legacy is um
(54:55):
that he really presented two sides of the role to people.
He said, on this side of the roller, you can
be whatever you want to be, coming up from the streets,
working hard, being dedicated. Um, you know, getting to be
the number one draft pick, number two in the overall
draft and making it, you know, getting down there making it.
(55:19):
The other side of the roller is the outside. Um,
you know, drugs took his life. Not on purpose, but
it took his life, and that should be an example
and part of his legacy of what not to do.
J Billis played four years of basketball at Duke at
the same time Bias played at Maryland. As an analyst
for ESPN, he's now one of the more respected voices
(55:41):
in college basketball. Well, you can always use use him
and others as a cautionary tale, but it doesn't work.
You know how many cautionary tales are there out there
about not just about drug use, but about drinking, about
you know, driving too fast, all these things, Um, you know,
does it work? I don't know. I don't. I don't
(56:03):
think it did with with drug use that I'm maybe
a little more cynical about that kind of thing because
we've all sat through those and I think the people
that resonates with are the ones that wouldn't do it
in the first place. I just don't think the data
shows that that it's doing a hell of a lot
of good. Molly Glassman was a Maryland beat reporter for
(56:24):
the Baltimore Sun during the bias Erah. She looks at
his legacy through the lens of her two different careers
as a sportswriter and sports editor and later as a
teacher in the Baltimore County system. Well, his legacy at
Maryland is of a local kid who made good and
(56:48):
worked his ass off to make himself a great basketball player.
And so that could that could be you. That greatness
can be achieved by anyone um who has talent and
is willing to work to make that talent the best. Well,
(57:14):
that's why I'm very happy to have these ten year,
twenty five year, thirty five year retrospectives to um, you know,
to revive those memories and introduce lends story to another
group of kids. You're like we tell kids all the
time as teachers. You know, you learn through your mistakes.
(57:37):
Don't be afraid to make mistakes, don't be a perfectionist,
keep trying and keep working. But Lenny Stories shows us
that even when you keep growing and learning and making
yourself the best person you can be at that there
there can be um tragic consequences. You are never totally invincible. Now.
(58:00):
Riam Legare was a friend of Bias at Maryland and
is now a producer for ESPN. She sees those who
feel betrayed by his loss, and I think people, actually,
they get so emotionally invested in it. They're angry, They're like,
you cheated me out of rooting for you. They were
looking towards the future, and I feel like while Lenny's
(58:21):
future was cut short, I think people's dreams about who
he was and who they wanted him to be was
cut short too. Ed tap Scott is a former college
and NBA head coach. He is a Washington, d C.
Native who followed the career of Len Bias closely. Tragic
waste of potential is what I see as the legacy. Um.
(58:42):
There was a guy who would put himself on the
precipens of enormous success, but for a one mistake that
didn't work out the way it was supposed to h
It was obviously an object lesson that many coaches used
to uh preached to their players about. And so for Letty,
(59:04):
I think for an entire generation of young m men
in this area, young men and women UM, and particularly
those in the athletic community, this story rings as a very,
very tragic story that will be used for a long
long time to help other people recognize how decisions and
(59:26):
mistakes matter in life. Tom O'Neill's father, Tip O'Neill, was
the Speaker of the House when len Bias died. Tip
O'Neill guided the Anti Drug Abuse Act legislation through Congress.
The legislation created mandatory minimum sentences for certain cocaine criminals.
One of Tom O'Neill's brothers died from drug and alcohol addiction.
(59:48):
You know, he was a great basketball player. I think
people don't know his back story because there was so
much abuse in our society today. Anything that could be remedial,
anything that can educate so that we can inform people
as mistakes being made by others or having been made
by others won't be repeated or done again. This is
(01:00:14):
dav and Grady, a producer of this podcast series. I'd
like to take a minute or so to recognize someone
who was featured in this episode, and that is Bob Gagan.
Bob passed away earlier this year. Bob was a pioneer
promoting basketball in the Washington, d C. Area. In fact,
(01:00:35):
he is considered perhaps the most prominent promoter of basketball
in Washington, d C. Of most relevance to this podcast series.
Bob was the first person to induct Len Bias into
a Basketball Hall of Fame. I've known Bob since the
early nineties. More recently, he's been very supportive of the
(01:00:58):
book I wrote about Len's legacy that inspired this podcast series,
and he has played a significant role in helping preserve
the complex legacy of Len Bias. Up next on Len Bias,
A Mixed Legacy, Bias and Culture. Gwennilyn Brooks was one
(01:01:22):
of the most distinguished poets UM in the country at
the time. And to have that person who represents the
pinnacle of UM you know of a literary position have
a meeting with um arguably the best Um college basketball
(01:01:47):
player in the United States at the time. I mean,
that's remarkable, isn't it. It meant to me the coming
together of two cultures, you know, the literary humanities culture
and the student athlete culture. And it seemed clear to
me that Um Len Bias recognized the importance of the moment.
(01:02:12):
There were these connections, political connections, cultural connections, social connections.
Do you realize that this may have been the most
impactful moment in modern sports history just because of the
impact it had on politics, on culture, on a generation
of African Americans. One and more painful, What if in
(01:02:39):
pop culture history it's called Home Court. It's a play
about an inner city family that's striving to beat the odds,
which I should notice face not too loosely on the
tragedy of of of Len Bias. Oh, let just try
to tell what I do Lynn Bias post nineteen six overwhelms.
(01:03:07):
The narrative of Lynn Bias pre nancy, pre overdose and
overwhelms is so much so that for me, him as
a basketball player has to constantly try to compete with
his effective culch in all of those other ways. This
podcast series is based on the book Born Ready The
Mixed Legacy of Lem Bias, published like Go Grady Media.
(01:03:29):
The series is produced by Go Grady Media and partnership
with Octagon Entertainment. This segment was produced by Davon Grady
and Don Mark. It was written by Davon Grady and
edited by Don Marcus. The narrator was Kevin Sheen, with
additional narration by Jamal Williams. Technical production was provided by
Octagon Entertainment. Production assistance was produced by Kevin McNaughty, Tina Quagliarda,
(01:03:51):
Lauren Roth, Georgia Braun, Casey Fair, Jamal Williams, Chelsea Mannix,
and Enzo Alvarino. Social media assistance Special thanks to the
University of Maryland and American University for providing inserts. The
Decision Education Foundation is a content and promotional partner of
this podcast series. For more information, go to go graded
(01:04:11):
Media dot com. This has been a production of Go
Graded Media in the eight Side Network.
This podcast is based in large part on the book
Born Ready Mixed Legacy of Lynn Bias. Some quotes are
narrated by podcast producer and book author David Grady from
interviews done for the book. Recordings for those comments were
not available. Yeah, I found out after calling lefty uh
(00:20):
that Lynn had never been inducted into the Maryland Basketball
Hall of Shame, And so I said, gold, what the heck?
You know? He deserves to be greatnised. I remember one
recently departed I'm now I said that he would have
his name removed from the Hall of Fame if Lynn
Bias got in. So that was how strong they felt
(00:42):
about it. Today here it would have been so sick
(01:05):
RUGI Land Bias fan here? Anybody? Yeah? Ever here? What
do you know about him? That he long time ago?
I think it was Yeah, yeah, they was the cast
me out coming. I remember every almost every game from
from Lenny. How Actually, the Lenny was actually the reason
(01:26):
why I attended to Maryland back. He made Maryland pride
that you uh, regular routine wife of n still goes
on sitely, my grand joy that didn't even know toward
(01:50):
his eyes on them, but he had an effect on
this and then the curse they gave of the world
a weak up calling. I'm speaking totally as a fan
of you know, there's nobody had moves a great impact
in me in terms of my favorite Maryland athlete of
all times. He's no doubt for me, it was Linn Bias. Now,
(02:11):
it was strictly based on his achievements at Maryland. It
was based on what he did on the court. You heard,
you know, comparisons to Michael Jordan, that he would have
been greater than Michael George. So he would have been
this as good as Michael Jordan get paid. I'm just
trying to pay respect. One tragic story. When Lynn Bias
(02:32):
passed away from using cocaine, My father came in the
house furious, furious, if you ever do this, I'll kill you.
You don't have time the overdose, I'll kill you. So
I always say, you know what, no drugs for me.
His story rings as a very very tragic story that
(02:56):
will be usually for a long long time to help
other people records how decisions and mistakes matter and land
on this episode of Len Bias. The mixed legacy fame
and honor, the struggle to accept the legacy of len Bias.
(03:19):
I think they are to put a statue of I
think he was a better college player than Michael Jordan's.
That's Lefty Drizzle, the former college coach for Len Bias.
There are no statues of Len Bias, no roads named
in his honor, no memorial tournaments or charitable events raising
money in his name. The Bias family has formed foundations
to raise money on behalf of Lenn and j Bias,
(03:42):
but public records show they generated little, if any revenue
and no wonder When considering the legacy of Len Bias,
questions arise. How do you define the legacy of an
All American basketball player, one with potential to be one
of the greatest of all time when he goes and
throws it all away? How can you honor a young
man whose youthful indiscretion placed the University of Maryland, the
(04:04):
school that helped make him a star, into a tail
spin that lasted for almost a decade. How can a
fan or even a friend of Len Bias salute the
vast achievements and joyful moments of his life without also
acknowledging how his choice one night wreaked havoc on the
world around him. You want to badly, but even thirty
five years later, some still struggle. One pioneer did find
(04:27):
a way before anyone else to honor Len's legacy more
than a quarter century after his death. And of course
I had only known Lend because he played in the
Capitol Classic, which is an all star game I started
in nineteen seventy four. He played in two, and his
brother j played in. It was for many of with
(04:49):
the Biases. And I had gone to Maryland or basketball
games at Coalfield House when he was playing and saw
some of his great games and was familiar with him.
That's Bob Gagan, a legend promoting basketball. Gagan started the
Capitol Classic in the mid nineteen seventies. It was an
annual all star game in the Washington, d c. Area,
(05:11):
featuring the top high school basketball players in the United
States against those from the DC area. It was one
of the first of its kind, so it's no surprise
that Gagan was the first person to induct Len Bias
into a Hall of fame. He was inspired in part
after reading the book Born Ready The Mixed Legacy of
Len Bias. Found out after calling Lefty Uh that Lenn
(05:37):
had never been inducted into the Maryland Basketball Hall of Fame,
and so I said, well, what the heck? You know,
he denursed to be recognized. Gagan is also the founder
of the Washington, d C. Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame.
It inducted its first class in eight Bias joined that
hall in I did it primarily because of the injustice
(06:01):
that he wasn't being recognized by the Maryland university that
he played for. And I wasn't looking to get a
lot of publicity from it. But I was doing it
because I thought it was the right thing to do.
The effort to afford Bias Hall of Fame recognition has
been a prolonged process. It was not only because of
the way he died from a heart attack after consuming
(06:21):
a large amount of very pure cocaine, but also when
he died less than forty eight hours after the Celtics
made him the second pick of the NBA Draft and
with Bias expected to be a prime time player in
the NBA. By the end of Bias was a member
of four halls of fame that includes the University of Maryland,
(06:41):
but it took more than a quarter century after his
death for all of that to start to happen and Maryland,
for one, is finally accepting the legacy of Bias. In
late November, Maryland Athletics released a documentary about the basketball
accomplishments of Bias, and on December one, it held its
first Len Bias Night at a Maryland basketball game. In
(07:03):
this episode, we will explain why it took so long
for Len Bias to receive his ultimate honors and how
it happened, and we will also provide comments about the
depth and breadth of his legacy from many who knew him.
Some did try to memorialize the legacy of Len Bias
(07:25):
before the Halls of Fame came calling. The Columbia Park
Civic Association represents the neighborhood where Bias grew up. John
Ware was a longtime neighbor of the Bias family in
Columbia Park. He saw Lennon j grow up and play
basketball in the neighborhood where was part of a group
that wanted to establish a one thousand dollar annual scholarship
(07:45):
award in Len's name. It would be given to someone
in the neighborhood to attend college, but Lenise Bias turned
it down. Here's podcast producer Dave and Grady where told
me his mother did not allow me to do it.
She did not tell me why. They are a very
private family. They don't take advantage of their name. An
(08:08):
alumnus of Northwestern High School tried to erect a statue
and lens on Or on the school's campus. Bias also
attended that school. The alumnus was Victor Ramirez, a Maryland
state senator at the time. The effort didn't go far.
He withdrew a fifty thousand dollar bond bill to fund
the effort. In Apparently, some people were concerned about recognizing
(08:29):
Bias as a positive role model. One was Melinda Miles,
then the mayor of the town of Mount Rainier, It's
located some five miles southwest of the Maryland campus. In
a news report, In Miles said she didn't want her
grandchildren to model someone who died of a drug overdose.
She seemed to soften her thoughts about it in an
(08:50):
interview with podcast producer Davon grady In. Miles told me,
there was a lot of discussion in my neighborhood about it.
I care what the message says to young people, but
life has changed. The people who are as peers if
you are doing it for them, maybe now, if you
want to create a legacy for his mother, that's a
(09:13):
different ball game. Ramirez was a big fan of Bias
for years. He explained the reason for the statue in
a Washington Post story in quote, I grew up with
a Len Bias poster in my room. He represented someone
who could make it. He was one of us. I
think it was a tragedy, but you can't allow that
(09:33):
one night to take away from who he was, what
he stood for. I think he stood for giving people
hope and giving kids who grew up in the neighborhood
just like his hope that education the University of Maryland,
that college was possible. End quote. Two restaurants in College
Parker forever linked to the legacy of Bias, A jersey
(09:54):
of Bias hung on a wall in an enclosed class
frame and R. J. Bentley's for years. Then one day
in the early nineteen nineties, it was gone. It was
removed from the frame. Bentley's owner, John Brown, had offered
as much as several thousand dollars for the return of
the jersey. Brown told some Marilyn lacrosse players at a
Maryland football tailgate party that whoever found the jersey would
(10:15):
receive a one fifty dollar bar tab at Bentley's. A
few weeks later, Brown received an unmarked Brown envelope in
the mail. Inside was bias is Jersey. A loyal customer
later told Brown that her brother and two of his
friends stole the jersey and rotated possession of it. John
Brown told me they put it up wherever they were living.
(10:39):
One would have it for a while. Something bad. What
happened to him? They had handed to the next guy,
and something bad what happened to that guy? So they
got fed up with it and send it back. This
could be an urban myth, the curse of the Biased Jersey.
Mike Cogburn was the manager on duty at town Hall
Liquors in College Park when Bias stopped by a few
(11:00):
hours before he died. Cockburn advised Bias on his liquor purchase,
suggesting a bottle of Kognac. He talked with Bias about
the Celtics in the NBA, and Bias autographed the purchase receipt.
A short time later, Cockburn was featured in a local
television news report about Biased stopping by the liquor store.
About six months later, Cogburn was fired from town Hall.
(11:23):
He claims it was due in part to the media
attention he brought to the bar in liquor store. The
bar owner was not pleased when the media calls didn't stop.
Cockburn then moved to St. Croix, where he stayed until
Hurricane Hugo devastated the island in nine. After that time's
got so tough that Cockburn was forced to sell the
(11:43):
receipt for just two hundred dollars. Lefty Grizelle was among
those invited to attend the induction of Len Bias into
the Washington d C. Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame in
May two one twelve. Drizzle was Biasedes coach. He had
been inducted into that same hall a few years earlier,
(12:06):
but this time he couldn't attend. Here's Bob Gagan, the
founder of the event. I wanted him to be there
because I thought he had a great relationship, you know,
with Lynn and would like to be there when we
inducted him. And he said his his health didn't allow
him to travel that particular night that we were doing it,
(12:27):
But he said, I would love to stand you a
letter and if you could read it at the event,
I would appreciate it, so I gave it to our
host that night. The master of ceremonies was Chris Knock,
currently the color analyst on Maryland basketball radio broadcasts. Nacki
recalled that Griselle wrote a long and heartfelt letter from
(12:49):
Grizzle to his fallen star. What I remember was the emotion.
I also felt like it was a very cathartic letter
for Lefty to right, and it was it was clear
in the letter the verbage, just how emotionally, was still
about Lamb. I just felt like left he was unburdening
(13:11):
himself of you know, something that had weighed on him
for a long long time. It was not it wasn't
a one page it wasn't a three paragraphs and I'm done,
Hey had a right night at the Hall of Fame
kind of thing. It was not that at all. It
was heartfelt, it was emotional, It was I mean, it
was something Knack. He grew up in the Washington, D c. Area.
(13:34):
He was an assistant coach at American University when Bias
played at Maryland. He later became the school's head coach.
Knocks among many who wondered why Bias had not been
selected to a Hall of Fame until well, I mean,
my first thought, to be quite honest with you, is
what took you so long? I was fortunate I had
a chance, at a very young age and my coaching
(13:56):
career to watch Len play almost every day for about
three months leading up to that NBA draft. I was
working at American Ye. He was working out in that
gym every single day, and he was working out with
a bunch of NBA guys and a bunch of really
great college players. Uh. George Sound was loaded at the time,
(14:17):
as was Maryland, and he was superman. You know, he
was so much better than everybody else. Griselle was not
the only notable no show at the ceremony. Another was
a member of the Bias family. Here's Bob Gagan. I
thought it would be proper to invite his mom, who
was making a name for herself in Prince George's county
but going around talking about her son and and and mhm,
(14:45):
the problems that that she saw with young people, uh,
that she was trying to correct, And I thought I
would reach out, but I got no response. Gagan had
hoped a member of the Bias family or Grizel himself
could accept the honor unlensed behalf with no luck. He
then chose to ask Dave and Grady, the executive producer
(15:08):
of this series. He's also the author of the book
on bias that inspired this podcast series, and Grady was
more than a bit surprised. I told Bob it was
an honor, but I wasn't sure I deserved it. I
wasn't sure how it would be received. At that time.
There seemed to be some reluctance still to accept the
premise of the book. It dealt with so many uncomfortable issues.
(15:32):
And I recall a response after I posted something about
it in Facebook or local broadcaster or who I won't
name and who was a big Bias fan and went
to Maryland, said really as if he was surprised as well.
But it's hard to say no to Bob Gagan. He's
done so much for others, So in large part I
did it out of respect for him. I'm Grady recalls
(15:55):
a somber crowd during his presentation. I purposefully wanted to
keep it brief, and I didn't want to embellish the
good or the bad. I really wanted to explain the
reality of his legacy and acknowledge his life and accomplishments.
I vividly recall sad expressions on many faces. That's not
(16:16):
typical when you're honoring someone in such a way. One
that comes to mind is prominent broadcaster James Brown. He's
a d C native and he's a close friend of
the Bias family. He looked very somber, and I vividly
remember at the end there was beauted applause, and I
understood why it must have felt odd for them to
(16:36):
applaud such a presentation by someone with no real direct
connection to the family. KNACKI gives unready credit for helping
keep alive the memory of Bias as well as the
impact of his legacy by writing the book that forms
the basis of this podcast series, Back to Too. You
asked me if I felt like we were sort of
the forerunners in terms of starting that continuum that we
(16:59):
talked about. I really think Dave has a big hand
in that. You know, he's a lumb He wrote a
pretty comprehensive book. It's not one of those he understood.
It was not a cut and dried look at a
guy who made an awful choice one night. There are
a lot of angry different angles to this, and I
think that that sort of thing is what is what
matters as much as anything. And I'm not gonna say
(17:23):
he beat the drum because he doesn't impress me as
a guy who beats a drum, but um, I would
say he he did a great job of increasing awareness.
I think a lot of people don't even want to
talk about it. We realized that we were past the
point of the wound and and that, you know, we
had to sort of come to terms with us. And
part of coming to terms with that is recognizing who
(17:45):
Lenton was and for all those faults, he was an
absolute gem of a basketball player. And so I think
Dave has a big hand in terms of, uh, you know,
how that all that all happened. The first Hall of
Fame induction ceremony for len Bias ended with a dubious
and unique active tribute. Gagan had placed placards of all
(18:08):
the inductees on a stage. At the end of the night,
all but one remained, so I had five easels up there.
They were both mostly handing solder pictures, and I put
that on the stage to decorate the stage a little bit.
And after the event was over. Somebody took the len
(18:28):
Bias uh who walked off with it? I still have
the remaining ones other than Lens, and I don't really
know what happened to it. I know I never got
it back. The ex Affinity Center in College Park, Maryland,
is the epicenter of University of Maryland athletics. It's the
(18:50):
home venue of the men's and women's basketball teams, and
other sports. Athletics offices are housed in the facility as well.
It also features a temple of Terrapints tradition and a
triumph known as the Maryland Walk of Fame. It's on
a wall that stretches about a half length of a
football field. It features dozens of larger than life images
(19:10):
of the best athletes to ever wear a Terps athletic outfit.
In the middle of the wall, it's easy to notice
two of Maryland's all time great basketball players from the
early nineteen seventies. They are All America's Len Elmore and
Tom McMillan, standing side by side. A few feet to
the left is the headshot of Louis Bozi Burger in
(19:32):
NY one. Burger became Maryland's first basketball All America to
the right, you notice the Terrapins mascot to Studo, He's
holding a sign that reads fear the Turtle. Next to
him stands Len Bias. He's wearing the iconic gold Maryland
jersey with the blazing red number thirty four. His arms
are raised triumphantly until It was one of the only
(19:55):
two concrete reminders of his career at Maryland. The other
was his banner hanging in the arena's rafters. That year,
Bias was finally inducted into the University of Maryland Athletics
Hall of Fame. Bias was eligible to receive induction in
nine six, but the way Bias died, related to a
drug overdose, created caution among many who had to say
(20:17):
in his selection. I think every year for a number
of years Len's name would come up and we probably
would spend an hour in the meeting talking about lens nomination.
That's Steve Halick from two thousand five to Haleck was
a member of the selection committee that picked inductees for
Maryland's Hall of Fame. He supported Lens selection, but he
(20:39):
was also among the minority. Another was Laura Lemire, a
Hall of Fame inductee in two thousand four, the Hall
of Fame Selection Committee had used one of its by
laws to exclude bias. It reads, nominees must have good
character and reputation and not have been a source of
embarrassment in any way to the university. And there seemed
(21:00):
to have seemed to have been a generational divide. Um
I'm going back to now would have been in my fifties.
It seemed like those that were in their upper sixties seventies,
we're just totally against it because he died of a
drug overdose UM, whereas I know Laura and I would
be allied in in UM arguing for it. Lamier, now deceased.
(21:26):
Compared to bias selection to Babe Ruth being inducted into
the Baseball Hall of Fame, Ruth was known for his
borish and abusive behavior off the field, but he made
it to Cooperstown on the strength of his playing feats.
Laura told me, should we really be paying tribute and
honor to someone of Ruth's character with bias some are
(21:46):
looking at after his death. You have to look at
his career and what he accomplished. The selection committee is
part of Maryland's m Club, a group of former Maryland
Letter Winners and Coaches that supports programs for athletes at
the school. Haylock is a former terms wrestler, and he
served as club president in the nineteen nineties. Haylock called
(22:07):
Bias the six d pound guerrilla in the room. It
never went to a vote that I recall, or if
it did, you know, he didn't get in. UM. And
it was every year for a number of years. I
remember one recently departed alumni said that he would have
his name removed from the Hall of Fame if Lenn
Bias got in. So that was how strong they felt
(22:30):
about it. The person who made the threat just happened
to be one of the most revered quarterbacks in Maryland history.
In nineteen fifty two, he was a unanimous first team
All America and a runner up for the Heisman Trophy.
But I mean the one that said he would not
he would resign if it was Jack Scarlatt carried a
lot of weight. It was extremely frustrating. I mean, it's
(22:52):
an athletic Hall of Fame. You have the arguably the
best basketball player in Maryland's history. Um, if you had
gone on, you know, and I think we're all looking
forward to you know, seeing him in the NBA. If
you'd gone onto a distinguished career in the NBA and
then died of a drug overdose, they probably would have
voted him into the Hall of Fame. But it was just,
(23:14):
I mean, it was it was tragic the way it happened,
but it was just they implied that he was unworthy
because of that. And I guess a letter of the
law with the rules depend on how you said brought
this honor. And part of it was I think because
of the reaction to the university and how the athletic
department suffered in the aftermath of Len's death that I
(23:39):
think um steal some of those against him. Those on
the committee supporting a biased selection gained a stronger voice
after others who were against it started to leave the committee.
Frank Costello was Maryland's head track coach in the nineteen
seventies and was an All America high jumper at Maryland
in the nineteen sixties. He's a member of the Hall
of Fame and a past member of its selection committee.
(24:02):
And I can understand both sides of the picture on that.
I can really uh to see where some people may
have had a hard time going past the the drug
problem and so forth like that. But I remember those meetings, yeah,
(24:23):
and I remember Jack wasn't happy and and uh, so forth.
It's hard sometimes to divorce from the drug problem to
the super athlete. Here's this individual right in the middle,
and I think that's where the problem was. Jerry Bechtel
played basketball at Maryland in the late nineteen fifties. In
early nineteen sixties, he's a past member of the selection committee.
(24:47):
Bechtel offered a prescient proclamation about a decade ago. Bechtel
told me it would not surprise me that sooner or
later he will get in there. There are enough people
talking about it. Lena is a good example why some
kids now are not using drugs. It was a slow
build in the early two thousand's toward a Maryland Hall
of Fame induction for Bias. Podcast producer David Grady recalled
(25:10):
an incident in related to his book that reflected the
department's reluctance to accept the Bias legacy. I had set
up a signing in a party room and then Comcast
Center in a room called Heritage Hall. It was hosted
by the Fast Breakers. There were a basketball fan club
that supports Maryland. The night before the event, they called
(25:31):
me and said they had to cancel. Apparently athletics wanted
no part of the book, and Grady saw that reluctance.
Change in he explains a chance meeting with then athletic
director Kevin Anderson that signaled lens eventual Hall of Fame
induction at Maryland. It was in the spring of Maryland
(25:53):
was hosting an nt double a seminar on campus. I
was there and I met Anderson for the first time.
I introduced myself to him, said I was a former
trip athlete and author of a book about Bias. He
responded saying he read the book and then he said,
we've got to get Len Bias in the Hall of Fame.
I agreed with him. I had advocated for Len's Hall
(26:15):
of Fame induction since the book was published. Kevin then
reached in his pocket and handed me something. He said,
take this. It was a Maryland Challenge coin. On one
side was Testudo, the school mascot. On the other it
read presented by the athletic Director for Excellence. He jokingly
(26:36):
explained that if I met him again and did not
have the coin with me, I had to buy him
a drink. I thought there was more to it and
later asked him why he gave it to me. He responded,
for the work you are doing for Lenn Bias. At
that time, I felt the mood and athletics related to
Bias was about to change, and it did. A few
(26:58):
months later, Maryland announce Lend would be inducted into its
Hall of Fame, and we are absolutely thrilled. Though some
people have said it should have been done. The Bias
family is thrilled, and so many of our friends are
(27:19):
thrilled that this time has come. That's Lenise Bias speaking
on the Rock Newman television show in early October. Later
that month, Bias was finally inducted into Maryland's Athletics Hall
of Fame. Was Land us All Moments later the events
(28:02):
m C introduced Len's parents and the us. It is
(28:23):
needed on in a privileged here to see and to
be a part of. This is score occasion some of
the best times. And I don't like we're spent out
here over at Coldfield House watching Lend lay ball. But
I can remember when I late in the floor and
cried and bag tonight when my second son nine, I
(28:46):
didn't know how my two rogaining children we're gonna make it.
How my husband and I were going to pay it.
So here we are today with five brand children. And
so one of the things that I could back to
impress upon the audience tonight is this is to redeem
the time because during the time of suddenly, everything is
(29:10):
happening so quick and so fast, and I will just
tell you, just let your loved ones know how you
feel about them, show love and encouragement, because this is
not the time not to have time. We stay here
today for twenty six, twenty eight years saying that there
(29:30):
is like a death. Abby had the good life, after
you had your night there after you had life after death.
Then the best is yet to come. And we are
here today experiencing history. When the best coming from the
Bias family today here at the University of Growing has
(29:52):
left by is this pain is inducted the dis I
thought it was well disold. I mean obviously a huge,
huge error and judgment took place and he paid the
(30:13):
ultimate price with his death. That's Mike Locksley, Maryland's head
football coach. He imparts a message of forgiveness related to
honoring the legacy of Bias but I also don't feel
as though um, that error that he made, which we
all make mistakes in our life, should prevent a guy
(30:34):
that had such a huge impact on Maryland Athletics, Maryland basketball,
this community, um to be given his second chance post
mortal um per se and ideal with kids on a
daily basis eighteen or two year olds that will and
do make mistakes, and a lot like as a parent
(30:56):
when your kids make a mistake, do you instim from
your family? Do you say you're done because you made
a mistake. Acceptance of the Len Bias legacy increased gradually.
His image was featured on promotional materials when Maryland celebrated
a hundred years of basketball in twenty nine that included
a ticket stub for a game that year that would
(31:19):
have seemed unimaginable just ten years earlier. Since his induction,
Len has been featured in university publications. On the thirty
fourth anniversary of his death, in June, Maryland's Alumni magazine
published a cover story called Remembering thirty four for its
Winter two edition. Maryland's Athletics Magazine published an updated version
(31:40):
of a story about Bias. It first appeared in teen
and recognized his accomplishments as a player. That's not all.
In late one, lenn was inducted into the National Collegiate
Basketball Hall of Fame. Former Maryland coaches Lefty Grisel and
Gary Williams are also members of that Hall of Fame.
(32:00):
Only one of their terms player is in as well,
and that's Tom McMillan. He feels few words pleased that
lends induction into the Hall of Fame, as Driselle, the
former coach for both McMillan and Bias, and I don't
think that Lenny's mistake should deny him, you know, credit
for his great basketball career. That's just my view, and
(32:24):
you know, I know coach shares that view, but I mean,
it certainly has marred his reputation and it's left a
big chip on his shoulder for years. Hey, he'll never
get over it, I mean, And so he pushes hard
to make sure that when he's so honored. He doesn't
think the athletic department does enough, not promoting this enough.
(32:45):
He thinks this is a big deal and they need
to really make it a big deal. They did. In
late November, Maryland Athletics released a documentary about Lennon. It
focused primarily on his legacy as a basketball player and
had only one men of how he died, maybe one
of the best players ever to play at the University
(33:05):
of Maryland said, that's the guy, you know. He was unbelievable.
Unfortunately for me, I had a coach against him for
four years in the A c C. A player. Lenn
Bias was not a great player. He was a transcendent player.
He's one of the best players I've ever seen. I
(33:25):
was a student here when Leonard was a god on
campus and um growing up a turf band He's he
was the guy then and remains my all time favorite term.
He was the best damn player. He was the best.
(33:48):
A couple of weeks later, Maryland basketball stage Lenn Bias
Night during a home basketball game against Virginia Tech. It
was the first time Maryland dedicated one game Tobias. At
the game, some four thousand Len biased jerseys in gold
with red lettering and trim were handed out to students
a few hours before the game. Hundreds of students lined
(34:09):
up outside the arena to be the first to claim
them first. A group of female students who's a Len
Bias fan here anybody, Yes, what do you know about
him that I think? Here's Jacob Corba, a student from Eldersburg, Maryland.
(34:33):
He was a great player. People said at the time
that he could have been like Well in college. He
could have been better than Jordan's decided to celebrate with
some friends and then that uh and then too well.
Inside the arena, a fan was wearing a different biased jersey.
It had a white background with red letters. It's Rob
Mitchell of Elicant City. Mitchell claims he played against Jay
(34:55):
Bias and pickup games when he was a student at
Maryland from I've had it for about fifteen years now,
um and is one of my classic years. I remember
every almost every game from from Lenny. I actually the
Lenny was actually the reason why I attended to Maryland back.
(35:17):
He made Maryland pride uh a regular routine. I enjoyed it.
It was the battles against U n c S, the
battles against uh Duke, the championship from eighty four I
remembered distinctly like it was just Maryland's players. Even were
(35:37):
long sleeve versions of the giveaway jersey as warm uptops.
Johnny Holiday had a courtside seat at the game. He's
been Maryland's play by play announcer for football and basketball
for more than forty years. And it's a whole ballgame now,
(36:00):
a whole new generation of fans, and I think that's
the best tribute to him. It's to see people walking
around at games at other events, what number thirty four
and Bias in the back of their jersey. Chris Snaki
was an Exfinity Center that night, working with Holiday as
the radio broadcast analyst. None of those kids were alive
(36:21):
when Lenn was alive. It was an awesome momentum to
have those people, I think, even the kids who weren't
a lot to understand the significance of Lenn his life
and his death and uh and and the fact that
the Bias has got to walk out on that court
honestly wasn't called field House where Len had played, but
it was. It was, you know, the Gary Williams court
(36:44):
on Exfinity Centerson. To to have them walk out and
be recognized like that, it was an emotional minute or so.
And you know, I cannot remember it can't speak to
exactly what kind of ovation he got in two thousand twelve,
but I can speak to what happened at Exfinity, and
it was brilliant, It was awesome, it was well deserved,
(37:06):
it was extremely respectful, and it was loud. It was
no longer when was the day. It's a biggat scene forever.
James the port tonight, this was the name, says Spies.
(37:40):
James and Lenise Spias held a press conference after the game.
Linis Bias has spoken often publicly about Len's death and legacy,
but it wasn't until his death that I realized who
he was and the impact that he had made in
the sports were and how his death impacted the entire
(38:05):
UH Earth. I'm a firm believer that Lenn was a
seed that went down into the ground to bring forth life.
And and to see the hardship that the Bias family endured,
not only through death but the death of Lenn, but
forty two months later with the death of our son Jay,
(38:30):
and then to see us come full circle, not running
away from where the pain was, but standing until the
healing took place. And to be here today showing that
just my husband and I standing out on the floor
through the death of Lenn is a message that you
(38:53):
can make it. James Bias has rarely talked publicly about
lenn His words then provided a more pro found impact
at the press conference then those of his wife, which
based on the revered reputation of Lenise Bias is saying
something see no recognized after thirty or four years, going
(39:14):
very five years, and that a new receptive crowd. Things
have changed. You have a whole brando faculty. Those people
who were uh students then thoughts and I have stolded
now so I'm probably in and right now with the
crowd of it. I mean, you know, for real, and
(39:36):
so that you think back on the legacy of Land
and what do you accomplish here and in joyment and
then you many of those people were regular students, just
like Land was. And we need to not forget that
that was a student at the University of Morality. Just
didn't just pop up and he had gone. Now, he
(39:58):
was a student just like those kids that n up
down doing the same thing he did before he came
to the school. So that's what impressed me. And I
was looking at everyone on him and I said, look
at that, look at them. He was just like that.
My my sons, my sons, and my daughter was just
(40:20):
like them. Up there and there was a bit jumping
up down and and and brouting for Maryland. So that's
what I was thinking about it. And and each one
of them I could see a part of him because
they're just like it. And that gave me hope about
the future. All those people I did. We never know
(40:42):
one day one of them might be president and may
be a president of this university. That's our hope, so
that I'd still have hope that life going on. We've
been successful at and at many things we appempt into,
uh yet done, and the life of Lenn still goes on.
(41:04):
The legacy Lends not only doesn't have them still my
grandchildren that Lynn didn't even know when he never put
his eyes on them, but he had an effect on him.
I have three um grandchildren to graduated college. They weren't
(41:26):
he born them, You understand what I'm saying. He never
saw them, but he had an effect on them because
we taught them about there, and they're awful and who
he was and his legacy, and that's why you see
after all these years, people still talking about lend bias
on the media and then the conversations everywhere. So I'm
(41:50):
very proud of it. What do you accomplished here? And
I'm I'm just proud of everyone who supports him, and
I'm standing up and cheer, as my husband said, seeing
the sea of jerseys out there and the young people
(42:11):
cheering and jumping up and down. And then when we
were passing through the crowd, people touching us and thinking us.
And I understand that when we grieved, as I said earlier,
for Lenn there were so so many people that grieved
and their people that are still breathing over his death.
(42:38):
Len Bias Night marked a departure from the old way
of thinking about bias at Maryland no longer a burden,
but rather a blessing to be accepted if you can
offer insight. Is deeply on the evolution of acceptance of
bias at Maryland as head football coach Mike Locksley, he
grew up in Washington, d C. As a Len Bias
fan and is seeing the change within Terps Athletics, the
(43:00):
folklore that goes along with it, and his uh legacy
just continues to grow with these generations because it's the unknown.
I'm speaking totally as a fan and not as the
coach of the football team that you know, there's nobody
that had more of a great impact on me in
terms of my favorite Maryland athlete of all times, you know,
(43:22):
there's no doubt for me it was Lenn Bias. Two
more Halls of Fame of honored Bias. The DC Sports
Hall of Fame inducted Bias in perhaps Len's highest honor
happened in late November. That's when he was inducted into
the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Here's part of
his introduction. Thirty five years later, the memory of Len
(43:43):
Bias and his start of at Maryland still stands strong.
What we're here tonight to do is to celebrate the
life and the playing career at the University of Maryland
of Len Bias, which was unbelievable and for those that
obviously aren't old enough to have witnessed it, it was
(44:03):
something special. Kevin Henderson was well aware of the Lenn
Bias story. He was a student at the University of
Kansas when Bias died, and he's been a member of
this selection committee at the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of
Fame for some fifteen years. We really became more aware
of Land and his story as young men when thank
(44:24):
you for reminding me the other day. Peter Jennings uh
came on the World News tonight and it was the
lead story, and I remember seeing that, and that's when
I became more aware of Lynn and and and his
kind of his his short history as a college basketball
(44:47):
player and and everything that happened in that tragedy. But
Lynn's death was a shock because he looked like us.
He looked like us, He was our age, we can relate.
So it was a shock in that way. It's like, oh, man,
(45:08):
here's a guy who's, you know, basically on top of
the world, and his potential was long, and you know,
now this happens that he's gone. Henderson is also the
CEO of the College Basketball Experience, which manages its Hall
of Fame. He says discussions about Len's induction focused only
(45:31):
on one aspect of his career, obviously the tragedy that
befelled him. Um, it was a topic of conversation during
his discussion, but I don't believe it had any bearing
on him getting into the Hall or not. It was
so it wasn't the list do it because we feel
(45:52):
sorry for that bias or you know, with you know,
this whole drug thing. And no, it was based on
his Uh. It was based on what he did on
the court. Uh and and and you often heard during
those deliberations. You heard, you know, comparisons to Michael Jordan's
(46:13):
that he would have been greater than Michael Jordan or
he would have been just as good as Michael Jordan's.
A lot of that talk was going on how phenomenal
of a basketball player he was. And and I'm talking
guys who have been in the game on that committee
for fifty years, and how they remarked about him as
(46:35):
a player. What is the most profound part of the
legacy of Len Bias. Was he a savior or a villain,
a cautionary tale or wasted talent? What is the big
takeaway from his story? Does his laws still trigger sadness today?
(46:56):
What follows is a sampling of responses we've compiled from
as we talked to for this podcast series, as well
as others profound perspectives on Len's legacy. We start with
Shaquille O'Neal, a four time NBA champion and a member
of the Nay Smith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He
was fourteen years old when Lynn Bias died. This comes
(47:17):
from an interview on The Jordan's Harbinger Show. One Tragic Story.
When Lynn Bias passed away from using cocaine, my father
came in the house furious, furious, if you ever do this,
I'll kill you. You don't even have time, O it does,
I'll kill you. So I always say, you know what,
no drugs for me. Bryan Strouse is a soccer writer
(47:41):
for si dot Com. He grew up in Washington, d C.
And watched Bias play basketball on television. Strouss found a
deep connection with the death of Bias, and so it
became this reflex that whenever Coke Kaine was referenced in
any way or or or mentioned or seen, the immediate
(48:04):
like electrical cognitive response was len Bias and len biases death,
and this is what this drug does, and this is
the havoc and chaos that this drug can cause. And
so it was the red light kind of the metaphor
like stop immediately, like an instantaneous repulsion, because to me,
(48:26):
cocaine represented um everything that happened to this guy who
obviously I never met and had no connection to and
barely understood who he was. But like I said, I
knew He was this larger than life figure in Washington sports.
I love sports, and it was the only way that
I could comprehend his death when I was eleven, UM
(48:47):
was to connect it to the drug. And that connection
has existed ever since. Robert DuPont was the president of
the American Council of Drug Education when Bias died in
the nineteen seventies. He was the director of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse and a white House drugs are
He sees Len's legacy as a profound marker that changed
(49:07):
the perception of cocaine. Oh my god, I think that
that that that death was not in vain. Uh. That
death was a marker of a changed attitude in our
society and the world. Uh. It was. It was a
very dramatic switch that went on. And I think about
it very much as a legacy of Len Bias. Uh
(49:28):
that we're all grateful for We're all uh in his
debt uh and and gave a meeting to his life
that otherwise wouldn't have been there, and that was to
unmasked cocaine as a danjurious drug. Bonnie Bernstein was a
Maryland gymnast in the late eighties and early nineties at
(49:49):
a time when Maryland athletics endured drastic changes. She later
became a network sportscaster. It's important to keep history alive
because we have to keep the anti drug message alive.
The reality is the kids need to hear that message.
(50:10):
They're not gonna listen if it's coming from a parent.
They're probably not going to listen if it's coming from
a coach or an administrator. Those messages resonate most strongly
when they're coming from people they admire and want to emulate.
And while len Bias has gone, his story is still strong.
(50:31):
And when his story is shared, and when you think
about who len Bias could have been, that means something.
That means something to kids, whether they're playing basketball or football,
or soccer or across or gymnastics, they want to be
the very best. Len Bias was one of the best
(50:52):
in college basketball, and he was projecting to be one
of the best to ever play the game in the NBA,
and he never may had that champ because of the
choices he made, and for that reason alone, we need
to keep his story alive. Joanne Borzakian was a marketing
(51:12):
representative for reebak who was working with lenn when he died.
She sees the legacy of Bias for what he was,
not what happened because of how he died. For me,
it's everything he had accomplished and all that he could
have accomplished. I think he had the potential to make
others great. I just feel so sad. I feel so
(51:33):
sad that we didn't get to see all the greatness
that he brought up to that point. I just wonder
what was in that Genie bottle ready to be unleashed.
Johnny Dawkins was the college Player of the Year in
nineteen six and duke. Like Bias, he is from the
Washington d c. Area. He played against Bias in high
school and college. Definitely a sadness in a d m V.
(51:57):
That was definitely a sadness in that community. Uh, you know,
probably still is, to be quite frank. I mean just
you know, just thinking about who we would have become.
I think everyone carries that you know with them, and
I mean I think sometimes we overlook the fact that,
you know, generation of players that have come behind him.
I mean, who knows that that would have happened to
one or more of those players if it hadn't been
(52:18):
for the story of Lynn Bias too. I think he
saved a lot more lives that that will never know
because of his story and the fact that we've kept
his story alive the way that Desmond kept alive. Earlier
in this podcast series, Lenn Elmore compared the legacy of
Bias to a Greek tragedy for all involved. Elmore was
an All American at Maryland in the mid nineteen seventies
(52:39):
a Land Bias. His name will always be associated with
Maryland because of his greatness as an athlete, but it
should also be associated with Maryland because of the tragedy
and humanity that's associated with it as well. Yeah, this
is the idea of a of a star in full
bloom that ultimately had that had that flame doust by
(53:06):
a mistake, and this is not the only kind of
mistake that you can make. To doubst that flame and
to recognize that no matter how good you are, no
matter how good you think you are, you know you're vulnerable.
And the idea is to recognize little vulnerabilities now before
you know they have a chance to to catch up
(53:27):
to you. As I said, doubst that flame to you
know limit your trajectory. UM, you know, to to place
a ceiling on your altitude. And similar to iconic actors
and musicians who died young, from James Dean did, Jim Morrison,
bias has become larger in depth than he was in life.
(53:47):
Here's Chris Knack, Marilyn Basketball's radio analyst. It's the same
reason why UM people talk about James Dean, John Kennedy.
You know, it's a it's a it's a wonder kind
done young way way way before their time, and it's
a I think it's the age old thing and and
part of it is that promise unfulfilled. Here's more from Dawkins,
(54:10):
the men's head coach at the University of Central Florida.
You know, we all are in a position where we
you know, we're not invincible. And not to tell my
players that to this day, I said, you know, you
guys walk around like like your Superman, but you know
we really aren't. We all are vulnerable and we all
can said come to something and uh again, you know,
(54:31):
you think about Leneya's situation because it's no more powerful
explosive person and player than he was during his time.
And he's and he was still in his early twenties,
and so that can happen to him, it can happen
to anybody. Jeffrey Harding is a Maryland basketball fan who
was also a prosecutor in the Brian triple trial related
to the death of Bias. His real legacy is um
(54:55):
that he really presented two sides of the role to people.
He said, on this side of the roller, you can
be whatever you want to be, coming up from the streets,
working hard, being dedicated. Um, you know, getting to be
the number one draft pick, number two in the overall
draft and making it, you know, getting down there making it.
(55:19):
The other side of the roller is the outside. Um,
you know, drugs took his life. Not on purpose, but
it took his life, and that should be an example
and part of his legacy of what not to do.
J Billis played four years of basketball at Duke at
the same time Bias played at Maryland. As an analyst
for ESPN, he's now one of the more respected voices
(55:41):
in college basketball. Well, you can always use use him
and others as a cautionary tale, but it doesn't work.
You know how many cautionary tales are there out there
about not just about drug use, but about drinking, about
you know, driving too fast, all these things, Um, you know,
does it work? I don't know. I don't. I don't
(56:03):
think it did with with drug use that I'm maybe
a little more cynical about that kind of thing because
we've all sat through those and I think the people
that resonates with are the ones that wouldn't do it
in the first place. I just don't think the data
shows that that it's doing a hell of a lot
of good. Molly Glassman was a Maryland beat reporter for
(56:24):
the Baltimore Sun during the bias Erah. She looks at
his legacy through the lens of her two different careers
as a sportswriter and sports editor and later as a
teacher in the Baltimore County system. Well, his legacy at
Maryland is of a local kid who made good and
(56:48):
worked his ass off to make himself a great basketball player.
And so that could that could be you. That greatness
can be achieved by anyone um who has talent and
is willing to work to make that talent the best. Well,
(57:14):
that's why I'm very happy to have these ten year,
twenty five year, thirty five year retrospectives to um, you know,
to revive those memories and introduce lends story to another
group of kids. You're like we tell kids all the
time as teachers. You know, you learn through your mistakes.
(57:37):
Don't be afraid to make mistakes, don't be a perfectionist,
keep trying and keep working. But Lenny Stories shows us
that even when you keep growing and learning and making
yourself the best person you can be at that there
there can be um tragic consequences. You are never totally invincible. Now.
(58:00):
Riam Legare was a friend of Bias at Maryland and
is now a producer for ESPN. She sees those who
feel betrayed by his loss, and I think people, actually,
they get so emotionally invested in it. They're angry, They're like,
you cheated me out of rooting for you. They were
looking towards the future, and I feel like while Lenny's
(58:21):
future was cut short, I think people's dreams about who
he was and who they wanted him to be was
cut short too. Ed tap Scott is a former college
and NBA head coach. He is a Washington, d C.
Native who followed the career of Len Bias closely. Tragic
waste of potential is what I see as the legacy. Um.
(58:42):
There was a guy who would put himself on the
precipens of enormous success, but for a one mistake that
didn't work out the way it was supposed to h
It was obviously an object lesson that many coaches used
to uh preached to their players about. And so for Letty,
(59:04):
I think for an entire generation of young m men
in this area, young men and women UM, and particularly
those in the athletic community, this story rings as a very,
very tragic story that will be used for a long
long time to help other people recognize how decisions and
(59:26):
mistakes matter in life. Tom O'Neill's father, Tip O'Neill, was
the Speaker of the House when len Bias died. Tip
O'Neill guided the Anti Drug Abuse Act legislation through Congress.
The legislation created mandatory minimum sentences for certain cocaine criminals.
One of Tom O'Neill's brothers died from drug and alcohol addiction.
(59:48):
You know, he was a great basketball player. I think
people don't know his back story because there was so
much abuse in our society today. Anything that could be remedial,
anything that can educate so that we can inform people
as mistakes being made by others or having been made
by others won't be repeated or done again. This is
(01:00:14):
dav and Grady, a producer of this podcast series. I'd
like to take a minute or so to recognize someone
who was featured in this episode, and that is Bob Gagan.
Bob passed away earlier this year. Bob was a pioneer
promoting basketball in the Washington, d C. Area. In fact,
(01:00:35):
he is considered perhaps the most prominent promoter of basketball
in Washington, d C. Of most relevance to this podcast series.
Bob was the first person to induct Len Bias into
a Basketball Hall of Fame. I've known Bob since the
early nineties. More recently, he's been very supportive of the
(01:00:58):
book I wrote about Len's legacy that inspired this podcast series,
and he has played a significant role in helping preserve
the complex legacy of Len Bias. Up next on Len Bias,
A Mixed Legacy, Bias and Culture. Gwennilyn Brooks was one
(01:01:22):
of the most distinguished poets UM in the country at
the time. And to have that person who represents the
pinnacle of UM you know of a literary position have
a meeting with um arguably the best Um college basketball
(01:01:47):
player in the United States at the time. I mean,
that's remarkable, isn't it. It meant to me the coming
together of two cultures, you know, the literary humanities culture
and the student athlete culture. And it seemed clear to
me that Um Len Bias recognized the importance of the moment.
(01:02:12):
There were these connections, political connections, cultural connections, social connections.
Do you realize that this may have been the most
impactful moment in modern sports history just because of the
impact it had on politics, on culture, on a generation
of African Americans. One and more painful, What if in
(01:02:39):
pop culture history it's called Home Court. It's a play
about an inner city family that's striving to beat the odds,
which I should notice face not too loosely on the
tragedy of of of Len Bias. Oh, let just try
to tell what I do Lynn Bias post nineteen six overwhelms.
(01:03:07):
The narrative of Lynn Bias pre nancy, pre overdose and
overwhelms is so much so that for me, him as
a basketball player has to constantly try to compete with
his effective culch in all of those other ways. This
podcast series is based on the book Born Ready The
Mixed Legacy of Lem Bias, published like Go Grady Media.
(01:03:29):
The series is produced by Go Grady Media and partnership
with Octagon Entertainment. This segment was produced by Davon Grady
and Don Mark. It was written by Davon Grady and
edited by Don Marcus. The narrator was Kevin Sheen, with
additional narration by Jamal Williams. Technical production was provided by
Octagon Entertainment. Production assistance was produced by Kevin McNaughty, Tina Quagliarda,
(01:03:51):
Lauren Roth, Georgia Braun, Casey Fair, Jamal Williams, Chelsea Mannix,
and Enzo Alvarino. Social media assistance Special thanks to the
University of Maryland and American University for providing inserts. The
Decision Education Foundation is a content and promotional partner of
this podcast series. For more information, go to go graded
(01:04:11):
Media dot com. This has been a production of Go
Graded Media in the eight Side Network.
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