Len Bias, RIP

I was a Maryland basketball fan and loved Len Bias. When he died I was working as a sports writer in Dalton. The news came across on the wire and I was stunned.
I remember telling sports editor Doug Hawley and he was equally shocked.
Bias had just been drafted by the Boston Celtics and looked ready for a long, successful NBA career. He was immensely talented.
At times like those someone always says that maybe someone else will learn from the tragedy. Put me in that column. Any "experimenting" I may have done in regards to chemicals ended then.
I remember at the time thinking what a terrible way to die, what a waste and what an enormous burden for his family and friends to bear.
I didn't want to go out like that.