| Interment Location | Visited | |
|---|---|---|
| Suitland, MD | March 24, 2024 |
“He can play some guard. He can play some forward. He can play a power forward; a quick forward. He is the best athlete, in my opinion, in the whole draft. And he’s gonna really help this ball club.” Boston Celtics president Red Auerbach was hopeful after his team secured the University of Maryland’s Len Bias as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft. Just after he was selected, Bias said in an interview, “I got drafted, so now my dream has come true. Now what I have to do is go out there and play, and set some more goals.” What no one knew was that tragedy would strike long before the 22-year-old star was even poised to step on the court. A mere 36 hours after he was on top of the world, Bias died of cardiac arrhythmia following a night of cocaine use.
Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird professed that Bias’s untimely death was “the cruelest thing I’ve ever heard.” That a young, healthy, supremely talented, caring, and well-loved person like Len was lost just as he reached the pinnacle of his passion was a devastating blow to his family, friends, coaches, teammates, classmates, and fans. That he had no known prior drug usage made it even more astonishing. “I swear on my life,” mourning Maryland Terrapins head coach Lefty Driesell professed to Auerbach, “I hope to die if this kid ever used drugs before.” Bias’s death and the cocaine overdose of 23-year-old Cleveland Browns safety Don Rogers just eight days later shined a brighter light on the potential dangers of cocaine amid a crack epidemic (although Bias used powdered cocaine, as opposed to crack). Strengthening bipartisan support for tough drug laws resulted in the passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which became colloquially called the Len Bias Law. The legislation set into motion mandatory minimum sentencing and other criteria that in four short years increased drug-related prison sentences for Black Americans from 11% higher than white drug offenders’ sentences to a staggering 49% higher. In subsequent decades, some legislative action was taken to reduce the racial disparity that contributed toward America’s substantial incarceration rate for non-violent offences.
Bias’s parents, James and Lonise, endured a second tragedy four years after they lost Len. On December 5, 1990, another son, 20-year-old Jay, was killed in a drive-by shooting. “I can’t express to you the feeling of burying one son while standing on the other son’s grave,” Dr. Lonise Bias conveyed. In the years following her children’s passings, Dr. Bias built a career as a motivational speaker, aiming to bring hope and inspiration to “youths, families, communities, and those in the workplace.”
Fast Facts
Born: November 18, 1963 in Landover, Maryland
College Basketball Hall of Fame: Class of 2021
Died: June 19, 1986 in Riverdale, Maryland
Cause of Death: Cardiac Arrhythmia induced by Cocaine Intoxication
Age: 22
Interment: Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Suitland, Maryland
"During my years as an ACC coach, the two most dominant players we’ve faced were Michael Jordan and Len Bias. I always thought those two players were a cut above. They did things no one else could do. I would put the two of them together."
- Mike Krzyzewski
in a 2010 letter to journalist Dave Ungrady, a University of Maryland alumnus
Len Bias was pronounced dead at 8:55 a.m. EDT on Thursday, June 19, 1986 at Leland Memorial Hospital in Riverdale, Prince George’s County, Maryland. This picture shows the area where the automatic glass doors of the ambulance entrance once were located, with the doorway now boarded up. Bias was brought into the hospital through this entry point. His body was removed through here as well, by staff from the medical examiner’s office. Leland Memorial Hospital closed in March 1993 after years of financial struggle. At the time of my visit to the former hospital, the building was used as the Crescent Cities Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Sources Consulted and Further Reading
Bias Foundation Inc. “ABOUT Dr. Lonise P. Bias.” Accessed May 16, 2024. https://biasfoundationinc.org/about-dr-lonise-bias.
Bogage, Jacob. “With echoes of Len Bias, Maryland athletic department faces crisis again.” Washington Post. August 11, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/08/11/with-echoes-of-len-bias-maryland-athletic-department-faces-crisis-again/.
Davenport Sports Network. “🏀On June 17, 1986 Maryland superstar Len Bias was selected by the Boston Celtics.” Facebook, June 17, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/Davenportsportsnetwork/videos/on-june-17-1986-maryland-superstar-len-bias-was-selected-by-the-boston-celtics-a/342787908003163/.
Gelber, Jonathan. “How Len Bias’s death helped launch the US’s unjust war on drugs.” Guardian. June 29, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/29/len-bias-death-basketball-war-on-drugs.
Goldstein, Amy. “LELAND HOSPITAL TO CLOSE DOORS END OF MARCH. Washington Post. January 20, 1993. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1993/01/20/leland-hospital-to-close-doors-end-of-march/2ced6b67-01b3-4936-b8a3-c3c2dcfd47da/.
MarylandAthletics. “34 | Len Bias Documentary.” YouTube video, 32:21. November 30, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GskmlxtZU-o.
McCallum, Jack. “The Cruelest Thing Ever.” Sports Illustrated. June 30, 1986. https://vault.si.com/vault/1986/06/30/the-cruelest-thing-ever.
Pressley, Sue Anne. “Questions Surround Bias’ Final Hours.” Wahington Post. June 28, 1986. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/06/29/questions-surround-bias-final-hours/21cfd4e7-a75c-4421-80ce-671d95b66a7f/.
Ungrady, Dave. “Send Len Bias to the Hall of Fame.” Washington Post. June 17, 2011. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-len-bias-deserves-to-be-in-the-university-of-maryland-hall-of-fame/2011/06/13/AGOksxYH_story.html.
Weinreb, Michael. “The Day Innocence Died.” ESPN. Updated June 29, 2008. https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story/_/page/bias/091103.
Wilbon, Michael. “Bias’ Death Leaves Mourning and Questions.” Washington Post. June 20, 1986. https://www.proquest.com/docview/139092032/CAE0DEDC64394774PQ/4?accountid=14901&sourcetype=Historical%20Newspapers.
