To those who knew Reggie Lewis best, fond memories are always front and During the ceremony, former teammate Dee Brown made a speech while two other former teammates, Sherman Douglas and Xavier McDaniel, held up Lewis' framed jersey. In the last decade, Abraham has treated dozens of athletes with overly enlarged hearts. We'll deal with that in time.". NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said the Journal's story "is based entirely on speculation and has no real factual basis.". No, nobody did, Jordan said. "Reggie was very aware of the problems drugs could bring. On a warm July afternoon in 1993, Reggie Lewis went with a friend to Brandeis University to shoot baskets. [16], The Boston Celtics responded by expressing sadness about the "vicious attack on Reggie Lewis and his family" and threatening "to file a $100 million lawsuit against the reporter, The Wall Street Journal and its parent company, Dow Jones and Co. Inc."[17] Dr. Gilbert Mudge, a doctor who treated Lewis, was sued for malpractice in connection with Lewis' death; in written responses to questions from the attorneys for Donna Harris-Lewis, Mudge said that "16 days before Lewis collapsed from a heart attack in 1993, he acknowledged having used cocaine, but said he had stopped. I had the privilege of watching Reggie accomplish some astounding things on the basketball court. Dr. Stanton Kessler, the deputy medical examiner, blamed the fatal damage on adenovirus 2, a virus that causes the common cold. With young people, experts say, scarring of the heart is more often associated with cocaine abuse. As he so often did with young players, Jordan tried to verbally engage Lewis, yet Reggie wouldn't participate. Lewis' coach and a teammate said they knew nothing about the reported cocaine use. He died too young, too soon, under murky circumstances that left more questions than answers. The other five were all Hall of Fame inductees, so it's not a stretch to say that Lewis was on the path to greatness. [8], The following day, Lewis checked into New England Baptist Hospital, where he underwent a series of tests by more than a dozen heart specialists, who the Celtics called their "dream team" of doctors. While a doctor diagnosed the athlete with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the spring (and deeming the disease career-ending), Lewis sought a second opinion from another area hospital, where another doctor gave the basketball star a less serious, non-fatal diagnosis. Kessler's office said today that he was not available for comment. Lewis, an athletic swingman from nearby Northeastern University, was considered the next big Celtics star after Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish moved on. I was trying to be aggressive with him. The newspaper's report offered no proof of cocaine abuse. On July 27, 1993, while shooting baskets at Brandeis University, Lewis collapsed and died. Autopsy confirms Lewis had serious heart defects Specific ailment still Lewis is buried in an unmarked grave in Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. What Killed Reggie Lewis? - CBS News The Detroit Pistons rejected a trade for Sacramento center Duane Causwell, saying he failed to pass a physical examination because of an unspecified problem. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Lakers vs. Warriors: What scouts expect in playoff series, Austin Reaves has come a long way from a tiny Arkansas town to Lakers MVP!, Game 7 mentality: Lakers close out Grizzlies to earn some rest, Plaschke: Lakers live up to their legacy with a close-out win for the ages, LeBron James and the Lakers eliminate Grizzlies in a Game 6 rout, Lakers will need to tighten defense on Morant and Bane if they want to win Game 6. "A lot of people just knew Reggie as a basketball player, but the guys on the team knew him off the court," he said. "From a medical perspective, looking at a heart, you can't tell what was going on," Dr. Gold said. It would be virtually impossible to prove it was cocaine that killed him.". Lewis blocked Jordan four times in that game and harassed him into a 12-for-36 shooting performance. Shortly after the doctors' assessments were related to Lewis and his wife, the player checked himself out of Baptist Hospital and was admitted to nearby Brigham and Women's, where he underwent additional tests. Indeed, Lewis had fainted during a game a few months before, prompting a much-publicized debate on his heart health and foreshadowing his death. If anything was being covered up, it was the fact he had a heart condition. He spent his entire life working his hardest to make it into the N. Lewis was selected to play in his first and only NBA All-Star Game held in Orlando, Florida in 1992. -- A month after suffering brain injuries in a world title fight, super-middleweight Gerald McClellan is breathing on his own and occasionally opens his eyes and moves his arms. Per CBS, Lewis had collapsed one time before, during a playoff game earlier that year against the Charlotte Hornets. McHale followed the year after. 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. I got clearance to shoot again. He spent a lot of time improving his game. The cause of the former Dunbar High School star's first fainting spell and his eventual death was the subject of public medical debate from the beginning. Reginald C. Lewis (November 21, 1965 - July 27, 1993) was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association 's Boston Celtics from 1987 to 1993. 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. Mr. Lewis, whose $1 billion acquisition in 1987 of the Beatrice . [citation needed], Lewis' contract remained on the Celtics' salary cap for two full seasons after his death because at the time the NBA did not have a provision to void contracts if an active player died; NBA Commissioner David Stern suggested that the remaining NBA teams should approve an exemption for Lewis' contract, but the teams refused to do so. He left having scored 17 points in 13 minutes. reggie lewis death - YouTube The autopsy did not reveal evidence of cocaine, which would be difficult to detect after more than three days, and without other evidence of drug use it could not be listed as a cause of death, the doctors said. "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. During a 1993 playoff game against the Charlotte Hornets, Lewis fell to the floor with nobody around him. Reggie Lewis, the Boston Celtics' star who collapsed with a heart ailment during a playoff game last April and was warned by doctors that he would risk his life if he ever played basketball again . They are shameful and disgusting. #inline-recirc-item--id-b3f182ca-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-b3f182ca-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { In addition, there is a history of heart trouble in Mr. Lewis' family. His shocking death triggered unprecedented spasms of grief throughout Boston, where he left an indelible imprint on the inner-city kids he mentored, kids whose dreams were not unlike his own. Reggie Lewis's death still hurts, 20 years later. "He told us he is going to read a statement and walk off," said Cynthia Case, a spokeswoman for Gund Arena. In a long report, the Journal said part of the answer as to why a treatable heart ailment ended in tragedy could lie in "the willingness of family members, lawyers, Celtics officials and some doctors to sidestep the possible cause of Mr. Lewis collapse.". It was the first and only trey he attempted all night. 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.". It was not much different behind the scenes, according to the Journal. "Looking down, (Dr. Kessler) told the group there had been legal threats made by the Lewis family and that he was bound by Massachusetts law not to discuss the case," the Journal reported. It wasn't until the second overtime that the old master, Bird, came to life and ripped off nine points to enable the Celtics to hang on for a 135-132 win. The more we can educate young adults about the risk of sudden cardiac death, he says the more we can prevent young athletes from dying unnecessarily.. A year after that epic battle with the Bulls, Reggie Lewis was chosen for his first All-Star Game. Two other doctors who examined the heart, however, said they found scarring that they described as consistent with cocaine damage, the Journal reported. "[18] On the other hand, the doctor who performed the autopsy on Lewis testified that the scarring on his heart was inconsistent with cocaine use, and other doctors reached the same conclusion though they "stopped short of saying he never used drugs. Lewis had worn the number 35 for his entire career. Reginald F. Lewis, 50, Is Dead; Financier Led Beatrice Takeover * The Celtics at the time were deeply in debt and in the midst of negotiations to sell a television station. The Journal also reported that there "was the more specific danger that such a scandal would interfere with a crucial business deal the Celtics were negotiating at that time.". . He shocked me a little bit.. 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 heart failure near Boston in 1993. If you know that somebodyused cocaine, you might think that caused it, but they might have heart damage for another reason," Dr. Gottlieb said. Like everyone on the Celtics, Lewis teammate Rick Fox took the news hard. Johnny Miller will return to Augusta National as a player in April, gaining an invitation to play in the Masters after winning in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The intense debate among his doctors over the cause of his heart damage and the possible role of cocaine never became public. The death certificate is expected to help clarify Lewis case. BOSTON - Reggie Lewis did not die as a result of cocaine use, according to a review of the Boston Celtics star's autopsy. He saw it with his mother and how it ruined a lot of people's careers who came out of East Baltimore. Did Reggie Lewis Have to Die? - TIME After he finally got up, he looked perplexed and dazed as he headed to the Celtics bench. 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. Reggie Lewis was a professional basketball player who died suddenly at the age of 27. Lewis denied using drugs. Doctors who reviewed the records agree that cocaine did not kill basketball player Reggie Lewis, the state's chief medical examiner said yesterday. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed Because of Lewis' age and physical condition, Dr. Charles Munn, the hospital's staff radiologist, and Dr. Thomas Nessa, Baptist Hospital's cardiologist, considered cocaine as being involved. How much better could he have been? Reggie had no choice but to learn to wait on greatness. 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. "Basically, what the diagnosis comes down to is circumstantial evidence. Hookailo said that the university has already handed over hundreds of pages of documents, including Lewis' medical records, to lawyers on both sides of the case. Fellow Celtic Larry Bird had high praise for Lewis's work ethic. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, Elliott: Pissed off Kings must improve in key areas to break Oilers playoff stranglehold, Shohei Ohtanis seventh home run of the season helps Angels avoid sweep, Florida Panthers upset record-setting Boston Bruins in Game 7 OT thriller, Dodgers dont need the long ball to finish sweep of Cardinals, School is in session as Sparks begin training camp. 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