 Bias after being selected in the1986 NBA draft 2 days before his death | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1963-11-18)November 18, 1963 Landover, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | June 19, 1986(1986-06-19) (aged 22) Riverdale, Maryland, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Northwestern (Hyattsville, Maryland) |
| College | Maryland (1982–1986) |
| NBA draft | 1986: 1st round, 2nd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Boston Celtics |
| Position | Small forward |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Leonard Kevin Bias (November 18, 1963 – June 19, 1986) was an Americancollege basketball player for theMaryland Terrapins. In the last of his four years playing for Maryland, he was named a consensus first-teamAll-American. Two days after being selected by theBoston Celtics with the second overall pick in the1986 NBA draft, Bias died from cardiacarrhythmia induced by acocaine overdose.[1] In 2021, Bias was inducted into theCollege Basketball Hall of Fame.[2]
Bias was born and raised in the Prince George's County area in Maryland, just outside ofWashington, D.C.. He was one of four children born to James Bias Jr. and Dr. Lonise Bias. He had a sister, Michelle, and two brothers, Eric and James III (James III was known as Jay).[3]
Bias graduated fromNorthwestern High School inHyattsville, Maryland.[4][5]
Bias attended theUniversity of Maryland. As a freshman for theTerrapins, he was viewed as "raw and undisciplined." Bias ultimately developed into anAll-American player. He led theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in scoring in his junior year and was named theACC Player of the Year. His senior season was highlighted by his performance in an overtime victory against top-ranked North Carolina, in which he scored 35 points, including seven in the last three minutes of regulation and four in overtime. Bias collected his second ACC Player of the Year award at the end of the year and was named to two All-America teams.[6]
Bias impressed basketball fans with his amazing leaping ability, physical stature, and ability to create plays, and was considered one of the most dynamic players in the nation. By his senior year, scouts from variousNational Basketball Association teams viewed Bias as the most complete forward in the class of 1986. Celtics scout Ed Badger called Bias an "explosive and exciting kind of player" and compared him toMichael Jordan.[7]
On June 17, 1986, Bias was selected by theBoston Celtics as the second overall pick in the1986 NBA draft, which was held inNew York City atMadison Square Garden.Red Auerbach, the Celtics' president and general manager, had dealt guardGerald Henderson and cash to theSeattle SuperSonics for the pick in 1984. After the draft, Bias and his family returned to their suburban Maryland home.[citation needed] On June 18, Bias and his father flew to Boston for an NBA club draft acceptance and product endorsement signing ceremony with the Celtics' coaches and management. Bias had discussions withReebok's sports marketing division regarding a five-year endorsement package worth $1.6 million.[8]
After returning home, Bias returned to the campus of the University of Maryland. He left campus at approximately 2 a.m. on Thursday, June 19, drove to an off-campus gathering and returned to his Washington Hall dormitory between 2:30 and 3 a.m.[9][10][11] For the next three to four hours, Bias, with longtime friend Brian Tribble and several teammates, snortedcocaine in the dormitory suite shared by Bias and his teammates.[12][13][14] Bias suffered a seizure and collapsed while talking with teammate Terry Long.[9][15] At 6:32 a.m., when Tribble called 911, Bias wasunconscious and not breathing.[14] All attempts by the emergency medical team to restart hisheart and breathing were unsuccessful.[9] After additional attempts to revive him at Leland Memorial Hospital inRiverdale, Maryland, Bias was pronounced dead at 8:55 a.m. of acardiac arrhythmia related to usage ofcocaine. It was reported that there were no other drugs or alcohol found in his system.[16][17][18][19] Bias's death occurred when crack cocaine was being published across media and his death led to greater coverage, when in reality he died using powdered cocaine.[20] This also helped fuel the war on drugs as politicians began focusing on his death.[20]
More than 11,000 people attended a June 23 memorial service atCole Field House, the university's basketball arena and student center where Bias played for the Terrapins. Those speaking at the service included Auerbach, who said that he had planned to draft Bias for three years. On June 30, 1986, the Celtics honored Bias with a memorial service in which his unused #30 Celtics jersey was given to his mother Lonise.[21]
Bias was interred atLincoln Memorial Cemetery inSuitland, Maryland.[22]
On July 25, 1986, agrand jury returnedindictments against Brian Tribble for possession ofcocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Bias'sMaryland teammates Terry Long and David Gregg were charged with possession of cocaine and obstruction of justice. Long and Gregg were suspended from the team on July 31.[23] All three defendants entered not guilty pleas in August.[23]
On October 20, 1986, prosecutors dropped all charges against Long and Gregg in exchange for their testimony against Tribble. On October 30, the grand jury added three more indictments against Tribble—one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and two counts ofobstruction of justice.[23]
Also on October 30, Kenneth Mark Fobbs, Tribble's roommate, was charged with perjury for allegedly lying to the grand jury about the last time that he had seen Tribble. The state dropped the perjury charges against Fobbs on March 24, 1987, and a jury acquitted Tribble of all charges related to the Bias case on June 3, 1987.[23]
In October 1990, Tribble pleaded guilty to a drug charge following a two-year undercover sting operation. He cooperated with the government and was sentenced to ten years and one month in prison.[24]
On December 5, 1990, Bias's younger brother Jay was murdered in adrive-by shooting at age 20. The killing followed a dispute in the parking lot ofPrince George's Plaza, aHyattsville shopping mall just a few miles from the University of Maryland.[25] He was pronounced dead at the same hospital where his brother Len had died and was buried next to him at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.[26]
Following their sons' deaths, James and Lonise Bias assumed vocal advocacy roles. Lonise Bias became an anti-drug lecturer, while James Bias became an advocate forgun control.[27][28] Lonise Bias, in the memory of her children, opened the Len and Jay Bias Foundation, which serves to encourage better examples for youth.[29]
A few weeks after Bias's death, committees in theUnited States House of Representatives began writing anti-drug legislation.[30] TheAnti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was signed by PresidentRonald Reagan on October 27, 1986. The law provides a mandatory minimum prison term of 20 years and a maximum life sentence, along with a fine of up to $2 million, for cases of drug distribution that lead to the death or serious injury of a person. It is also known as the "Len Bias Law."[31]
The circumstances surrounding Bias's death threw the University of Maryland and its athletics program into turmoil. An investigation revealed that Bias was 21 credits short of the graduation requirement despite having attended the university for four full years; in his final semester, he earned no academic credits, failing three courses and withdrawing from two others.[32] On August 26, 1986, state attorney Arthur A. Marshall Jr. stated that in the hours after Bias's death, Maryland head basketball coachLefty Driesell told players to remove drugs from Bias's dorm room. Two days later, Bias's father James accused the university and Driesell of neglecting their athletes' academic status.[23]
The controversy prompted athletic directorDick Dull to resign on October 7, 1986, with Driesell following suit on October 29 after 17 years as coach. The grand jury presiding over the Bias case issued a final report on February 26, 1987, criticizing the University of Maryland's athletic department, admissions office and campus police.[23]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–83 | Maryland | 30 | 13 | 22.0 | .478 | .273 | .636 | 4.2 | .7 | .3 | .5 | 9.3 |
| 1983–84 | Maryland | 32 | 31 | 34.5 | .567 | — | .767 | 4.5 | 1.5 | .4 | .8 | 15.3 |
| 1984–85 | Maryland | 37 | 37 | 36.5 | .528 | — | .777 | 6.8 | 1.8 | .9 | .9 | 18.9 |
| 1985–86 | Maryland | 32 | 32 | 37.0 | .544 | — | .864 | 7.0 | 1.0 | .8 | .4 | 24.3 |
| Career | 131 | 113 | 32.8 | .536 | .273 | .795 | 5.7 | 1.3 | .6 | .7 | 18.4 | |
Source:[33]
A documentary film about Bias's life titledWithout Bias, directed byKirk Fraser, was promoted at the 2008Sundance Film Festival[34] and released June 19, 2009. The film premiered onESPN on November 3, 2009, as part of the network's30 for 30 documentary series.[citation needed]
InSeason 6 of TV seriesNCIS, Bias's manner of death was discussed. Bias's death was depicted in the Season 5 episode titled “Comets” of the television seriesSnowfall.[35][36] A segment in the documentaryCrack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy discusses the impact of Bias's death on the public's perception of the crack epidemic.[citation needed] Bias was also mentioned during aSaved by the Bell episode on drug abuse.[citation needed]
(Original Caption) College Park, Md.: Lonise Bias, mother of Len Bias, holds a Boston Celtics' jersey given to her by Celtics' president Red Auerbach during a memorial service at the Cole Field House. The former Maryland basketball star died early June 19th of an apparent cardiac arrest.
His death created a media frenzy amid a national panic over crack, a cheap, smokable form of cocaine that was alarming drug-abuse experts and fueling a wave of violent crime in American cities, especially black neighborhoods. Mr. Biden convened a hearing the next month.
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