This need became more urgent after Len Bias, the 2nd overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, died of a cocaine overdose.[5]. "Reggie knew what we meant. "When Reggie first came into the league," Bird told me, "he really didn't know how to play the game. "It's thought to be the most common cause of unexplained heart damage in young, otherwise healthy people. "Furthermore, there is no conceivable way that the NBA's anti-drug program had anything to do with the issue of whether Reggie Lewis was tested or could have been tested upon his admission to the hospital," Granik said. The Celtics selected Lewis with the 22nd overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. An electrocardiogram, or EKG, to assess the hearts electrical rhythms will also be given. If you know that somebodyused cocaine, you might think that caused it, but they might have heart damage for another reason," Dr. Gottlieb said. Reggie Lewis Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? The Journal reported that Dr. Isner, who assisted with the autopsy, said that a lawyer representing the Lewis family threatened to sue for damages if anything emerged from the autopsy about drugs. Autopsy results found Lewis had a large, extensively scarred heart, and the cause of that scar tissue is still not known. She said that the school promised privacy to people who spoke to the commission and that releasing the files would cripple the school's ability to conduct future confidential internal investigations. Our goal is to make this not only an annual program in Maryland, but to serve as a model for other programs to start across the country, state by state, city by city, if necessary, Abraham says, noting that other countries, such as Italy and Japan, have since the early 1980s run regular school programs to screen teenage athletes and non-athletes for possible heart problems. Mr. Lewis, whose $1 billion acquisition in 1987 of the Beatrice . Parish played his final game as a member of the Celtics in 1994. Report: Doctors Suspected That Cocaine Killed Celtics' Lewis Andy Neuer won his first Professional Bowlers Assn. He spent a lot of time improving his game. "He had success against Jordan in other games, too," Shaw said. That was about it," Bird told ESPN. Many cases go undiagnosed, Abraham adds, because the young athletes healthy appearance and peak physical condition may mask their underlying sickness. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { Northeastern, Lewis' alma mater, is reluctant to turn over the results of the internal investigation. "Reggie Lewis' death was not caused by cocaine ingestion, nor was the damage to the heart at all typical of that known to be caused by cocaine usage," Dr. Richard Evans said. The newspaper said Lewis' death couldn't have come at a worse time for the publicly traded company that owns the NBA team, the Celtics Limited Partnership. Dumars was on a roster that included Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and John Salley, and their supersized personalities often overshadowed his accomplishments. They shouldn't bother. He played 15 minutes, scoring 7 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. Baptist Hospital, meanwhile, gathered a team of a dozen cardiologists from New England hospitals to review the case. Health officials in one region of Italy reported that screening had saved at least 22 lives. In addition, there is a history of heart trouble in Mr. Lewis' family. A report in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, however, said the doctors kept silent about their suspicions under influence from the Celtics and Mr. Lewis' family, who stood to lose millions of dollars if his illness was linked to drugs. After he finally got up, he looked perplexed and dazed as he headed to the Celtics bench. He initially went unrecruited by most Division I programs -- except by dogged Northeastern coach Jim Calhoun, who saw something special in the slender, shy wing player. display: none; ", Asked if anyone else had ever blocked four of his shots in one game, Jordan answered, "No one had ever done it before, and no one has done it since.". One of his two brothers was born with a hole in his heart and underwent open-heart surgery at age 4. Unfortunately, that path was cut tragically short. In that March 31 game, as Jordan pulled up for his patented fallaway -- one of the most feared weapons in basketball -- Lewis waited patiently for MJ to launch himself, then stretched his arms and timed it so he deflected the ball just as Jordan released. Notice of Privacy Practices(Patients & Health Plan Members). That came from Gilbert H. Mudge, director of clinical cardiology at a Harvard teaching hospital, who said Lewis suffered from a benign neurological disorder. The Journal said these "dismissive policies regarding drugs may have affected human behavior and medical procedure in a fatal fashion.". All rights reserved. } There was insurance coverage of more than $15 million that could be paid to the Lewis family and the Celtics only if there was no link to drugs. After Reggie's death, Shaw started a Thanksgiving giveaway in his native Oakland in memory of his friend, who hosted the same holiday charity in Boston. Doctors who reviewed the records agree that cocaine did not kill basketball player Reggie Lewis, the state's chief medical examiner said yesterday. Reggie Lewis - Bio, Personal Life, Family & Cause Of Death - CelebsAges Here's this talented guy who had never done anything wrong, who did so much for the city of Boston, and the next thing you know, he's gone.". However, the league permits testing when there is "reasonable cause" to suspect drug abuse. Follow @TIME. A doctor defending himself against a malpractice suit in the death of Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis said Lewis told him he had used cocaine, according to court . As a Celtic, he and his family lived in Dedham, Massachusetts. But Dr. Gold said it is difficult to tell whether cocaine, a virus, alcohol or other factors caused the heart damage. Autopsy results would later confirm that Lewis had an enlarged heart, an inherited defect called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which produced an errant heart rhythm under exercise stress that led to his sudden death. "He was showing us older guys respect," Jordan said, "but he also knew he belonged.". } He merely smiled and made a move to the basket. The Big Three dominated throughout the 1980s. [4], Lewis was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Boston Celtics in the 1987 NBA draft. "There's simply no hard science, no evidence," linking the virus to the condition that killed Lewis. As far as Reggie using drugs, he never used any drugs, no kind of way, never in his lifetime did anything like that happen. Although the myocarditis had healed, Kessler told the newspaper that Lewis heart remained scared and enlarged when he collapsed and died while shooting baskets at Brandeis University in the Boston area. Dr. Jeffrey Isner, a Boston cardiologist who assisted with Mr. Lewis' autopsy, called the conclusion of the Massachusetts state medical examiner's office "wildly improbable.". Yet, Shaw said, Lewis was neither awed nor intimidated by competing against MJ. Lemieux punched Brett Lindros on Sunday while the New York Islander right wing was pinned against the boards. The next day, he entered Boston's New England Baptist Hospital for a battery of tests. Kessler told the New York Times, I found evidence of disease, lots of it. The pathologist identified the virus as adenovirus type 2, one of several types viruses that can cause myocarditis. Yesterday, the Boston Globe reported that, according to the autopsy report, Lewis died of myocarditis, an inflammation of heart muscle tissue. -- Conchita Martinez, the defending champion and No. At a Boston news conference yesterday, the team's majority stockholder, Paul Gaston, criticized the Journal for suggesting in the Page 1 article that the team sought, for financial reasons, to cover up suspicions that drug use lay behind Mr. Lewis' illness, thereby undermining his care. Lawyers for four doctors being sued by Lewis' widow, Donna Harris-Lewis, have asked Northeastern for the documents collected by a Blue Ribbon Commission on Athletics that investigated allegations of drug use by players. When it happened again, this time on a pull-up jumper, Jordan became irked. "The question of drug use is not new," said John A. Curry, president of Northeastern University, alma mater of Mr. Lewis and Ms. Harris-Lewis. To the naked eye, nothing betrays the macabre spot where Reggie Lewis, their team captain and gentle star, collapsed while shooting baskets on July 27, soon to be dead. He also refused to provide a urine or blood sample for drug tests, and that only heightened his doctors' suspicions. If used consistently, cocaine can weaken the heart muscle, inflame it and ultimately kill the person taking it. Utah was 3-0 against bowl teams last fall. Following Lewis' death, questions were raised about whether he had used cocaine, and whether cocaine use had contributed to his death. Dr. Stanton Kessler, the deputy medical examiner, told the Journal that he stood by his findings. Following the death information, people wonder what Reggie Lewis's cause of death was. "When someone with his talent does that to you, you can live with it. While not citing any direct evidence of drug use, doctors involved in Lewis' diagnosis, treatment and autopsy told the paper they suspected cocaine damaged his heart, causing him to collapse during a 1993 playoff game. None of his teammates dared to rib him about a skinny kid from Baltimore blocking four of his shots. When Reggie Lewis, the popular captain of basketball's most storied team, collapsed while shooting baskets and died of heart failure, the city of Boston treated him like a fallen hero. Just to throw that bone out there so people think about it, I think that's not right at all.". Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end", Louisiana's health care deserts put women, babies at risk, doctors say, How a tall Texan became an unlikely Australian rules football star, Second convoy of U.S. citizens fleeing Khartoum arrives at Port Sudan, ISIS chief killed by Turkey's intelligence agency, Erdogan says, General Mills issues Gold Medal flour recall over salmonella concerns, Investors sue Adidas over Kanye West Yeezy deal, Tornado flips cars, downs trees after touching down in South Florida, Shaquil Barrett's 2-year-old daughter dies in drowning accident. "I'm fine," he answered, in his sweet, lazy Baltimore drawl. Defense was also a strength for Lewis. Fair or Foul? a Story Linking Reggie Lewis'S Death to Possible Cocaine .. His mother, Inez "Peggy" Ritch, has had two heart attacks -- the first when she was 17 and the other in 1990, after she had been a cocaine addict for about seven years. Midway through his first season in the NBA, I asked him how he was holding up. Discover what's to love about Charm City for yourself. In recent times, Reggie Lewis's death was surfed by many individuals. Dr. Stanton Kessler, the deputy medical examiner, blamed the fatal damage on adenovirus 2, a virus that causes the common cold. "He had my number that particular night.". Lewis death shocked the world. Reggie Lewis was born on the 21st of November, 1965. . Reggie's not a drug user," Mr. Lewis' mother, Ms. Ritch, said last night. The center was funded partially by Lewis and has hosted major indoor track and field competitions, the Boston Indoor Games, home basketball games for Roxbury Community College, and Northeastern University track and field events. Per CBS, Lewis had collapsed one time before, during a playoff game earlier that year against the Charlotte Hornets. * The Celtics told Mr. Lewis' doctors -- incorrectly -- that National Basketball Association rules prevented them from forcing Mr. Lewis to submit to drug tests -- tests that, if positive, would have allowed him to seek life-saving medical help, but also might have forced an end to a career that was lucrative to Mr. Lewis and the team. And until she's ready to make that trip . He wasn't sweating profusely or working that hard, but he suddenly crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath, and then lay still. The NBA said that Roy Tarpley, who was banished in 1991 because of drug problems, has applied for reinstatement, and, at the request of his agent, the Dallas Mavericks have talked with their 7-foot center, who plays in Greece. As a result, Lewis began working out in preparation for returning for the 1994 season. Meanwhile, the stolen banner bearing the retired number of Lewis was back at Boston Garden after police discovered it in the bedroom of a 16-year-old Melrose, Mass., boy. He also assured doctors, from his own experience with Mr. Lewis, that he was not a drug user. He was kind and caring, and this is the way I'll remember him and I encourage everybody to do the same," she said at a news conference at the Celtics' offices. 35 jersey was retired by the Celtics, making him one of only two Celtics to have a retired number without winning a championship with the team, the other player being Ed Macauley. His heart damage still could have been caused by a virus. He made his way back onto the court later in the game but quickly came back to the bench after experiencing dizziness. Lewis died at age 27 after he collapsed while shooting baskets. In Game 3, with Bird unable to play because of back woes, he torched the Cavs for 36 points and seven assists. I was getting some furniture, and he said, Hey man, I got clearance to play. [22] The rules have since been changed so that a similar case would result in a deceased player's contract being paid by league insurance.[23]. . "I was trying to be aggressive with him. When Reggie Lewis collapsed and died on July 27, 1993, at the age of 27, he was already a husband, a father, a community leader, an NBA All-Star and a Celtics captain. "Joe never talked trash," Jordan said. Boston Celtics small forward who tragically died of heart failure on the court at the age of 27. McHale followed the year after. [citation needed], On March 22, 1995, the Boston Celtics retired Lewis' jersey. The New England Patriots agreed to a four-year, $6.9-million contract with guard Bob Kratch. The Celtics plan to retire Mr. Lewis' uniform number during halftime of a game on March 22, a ceremony the club says will go on as scheduled. On a warm July afternoon in 1993, Reggie Lewis went with a friend to Brandeis University to shoot baskets. He also said he experienced guilt. McBride's 1994 Utes tied the school record with eight straight wins, finishing 10-2. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Authorities wouldn't say if there was evidence that Lewis ever used cocaine, and his widow declined Tuesday to allow them to release the autopsy report. The Wall Street Journal reported in 1995 that doctors at New England Baptist recommended Lewis be tested for cocaine. Dr. Kenneth Baughman, professor of medicine and chairman of the division of cardiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said viruses commonly cause this type of heart damage in young people. The Detroit Pistons rejected a trade for Sacramento center Duane Causwell, saying he failed to pass a physical examination because of an unspecified problem. Such scarring also might be caused by poison, medications, alcohol or infection. "That's because they understood who I was up against. "Indeed, since Reggie's death, local and out-of-town reporters have combed our campus for evidence of drug use or association by Reggie. The possibility of another one existed when the torch was passed to Reggie Lewis. Doctors who examined the late Boston Celtics player Reggie Lewis say they believed his heart quite likely was damaged by cocaine before the former Dunbar High basketball star collapsed and died of .
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