Former NBA Star Chris Herren Speaks Thursday, Nov 30 to DHS Students, Parents

Former NBA player Chris Herren is coming to Darien High School on Thursday, Nov. 30 to speak about addiction and recovery.

Herren will speak to students during the day and, starting at 7 p.m., to parents at the high school Auditorium.

Drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1999, Herren was traded to the Boston Celtics after his rookie season, then lost his career to substance abuse.

In other DHS-related news:

• In Darien’s Latest Pre-Turkey Bowl Fiasco: How Police Say Juvenile Trash Talk Led to Adult Arrests (Nov. 30)

He’s been alcohol- and drug-free since Aug. 1, 2008 and now puts “his sobriety and family above all else,” according to an announcement from organizers of the event.

The announcement also says:

“He shares his harrowing story of abuse and recovery in his memoir, Basketball Junkie, as well as in numerous interviews throughout the Emmy-nominated ESPN Films documentary Unguarded, of which he is the subject.

“Please join us for an inspiring presentation featuring former NBA professional basketball player Chris Herren. A tale of descent into addiction, a miraculous recovery and his new life mission: to share his story with audiences in the hopes of reaching at least one person and making a difference in their life.”

The visit is sponsored by the Community Fund of Darien’s Youth Asset Team, along with Darien High School, the Darien High School Parents Association, the YWCA of Darien-Norwalk and Silver Hill Hospital.

• See also: Letter: New Initiatives in Darien Give People, Families Support to Counter Substance Abuse (Nov. 9)

You can watch the full 1 hour, 20 minute ESPN documentary Unguarded here.

In this video posted to YouTube on Feb. 20, 2012, Herren talks to CNN’s Brooke Baldwin about his life as a drug addict:

Here, you can read an excerpt of Herren’s book, and here, you can look through a “preview” on Google Books.

Stories of Recovery: Chris Herren (4 1/2 minute video on YouTube):

More About Chris Herren

• The Rise, Fall and Redemption of Fall River’s Chris Herren (ESPN, 2012)
• Former NBA Player Speaks About Road to Recovery (Hartford Courant, March 28)
• Chris Herren Stats | Basketball Reference
• Chris Herren on Facebook
• Chris Herren on Twitter
• Chris Herren Wikipedia article
• Hoop Dreams w/Chris Herren

Image from the Community Fund of Darien

An announcement on social media about Herren’s visit.

Image from the Community Fund of Darien

A flyer about Chris Herren’s visit to Darien High School.

Editor’s note: This article originally was published Nov. 8. The time stamp has been changed to put the link to it back on the Darienite.com home page.