Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503100052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Long
The Boston Celtics labeled as ``racist'' and ``gutless'' a Wall Street Journal story suggesting that cocaine played a role in Reggie Lewis' death, and even produced his widow to say he never used drugs.
The article published Thursday said the Celtics, Lewis' family, some doctors and lawyers sidestepped the possibility that cocaine contributed to his heart problems and thus failed to prevent his death in 1993. It also said that the team could have been hurt financially if Lewis had been found to have used drugs.
Celtics chairman Paul Gaston denied that the Celtics gave Lewis anything but the best medical care and said the team would sue reporter Ron Suskind, the paper and its parent company, Dow Jones & Co., for $100 million.
``To me, this story is an example of gutless journalism, yellow journalism, based completely on a disregard for the truth,'' Gaston said.
``Any allegations that economic or monetary concerns could have conceivably played a role in any care that Reggie Lewis got are absolutely ludicrous. They're worse than ludicrous. They're shameful and disgusting.''
The article quoted several doctors who doubted the official autopsy finding that a virus that can cause the common cold led to the heart damage that eventually killed him.
The doctors said Lewis' condition pointed to cocaine use. But, they told the paper, Lewis refused to be tested for drugs and denied ever using them. After his death, a lawyer for the Lewis family threatened to sue the city of Boston if anything in the preliminary autopsy mentioned drug use, the Journal said.
``Reggie did not use drugs. Period,'' his widow, Donna Harris-Lewis, said at the news conference in the Celtics' offices. ``He was a model citizen. He was kind and caring and this is the way I'll remember him. And I encourage everybody to do the same.''
Said Gaston: ``I quite frankly think it [the article] was racist. When a black athlete dies, people do not believe that it isn't either guns or drugs.''
Paul E. Steiger, the Journal's managing editor, stood by the story. ``We remain confident that the article was fair and accurate,'' he said.
Questions from the Journal prompted the state's Office of Public Safety, which oversees the medical examiner, to re-examine Lewis' file several weeks ago. There was no reason to doubt the cause of death that was listed, according to a statement issued from the office.
``The office of the chief medical examiner has thoroughly investigated the cause and manner of death of Reggie Lewis,'' the statement said. ``Based upon the information provided to us, the office of the chief medical examiner has complete confidence in the cause and manner of death as listed on the death certificate.''
The department also said, however, that based on the article, it would contact the doctors who had been quoted to determine if anything had been overlooked.
Lewis, 27, collapsed during a game against the Charlotte Hornets in April 1993. After a team of doctors assembled by the Celtics warned that his career was in jeopardy, Lewis transferred to another hospital and sought a second opinion.
He died on July 27, 1993, after collapsing while shooting baskets in a Brandeis University gym.
The allegations in the Journal article contrasted with the image Lewis established during his life, through his involvement in the community and even his death.
The Reggie Lewis Foundation was established to continue working with Lewis' favorite charities, and a telethon has been scheduled to coincide with the March 22 retiring of his uniform No.35 at the Boston Garden.
``A lot of people just knew Reggie as a basketball player, but the guys on the team knew him off the court,'' said Celtics guard Dee Brown, standing on the court where his former teammate died.
The Journal article did not cite any specific evidence of drug use. But it did say: ``Cocaine was a central, explosive issue for the doctors, the Lewis family, the Celtics and the pathologists who conducted his ... 1993 autopsy - an issue that became untouchable because Mr. Lewis was a basketball superstar.''
The Celtics' previous first-round draft pick, Len Bias, died of a cocaine overdose the day after the 1986 NBA draft. The paper noted that another drug scandal would be potentially damaging to the league and the team.
The Journal story also laid some of the blame on the NBA's drug policy, which does not allow its veteran players to be tested for drugs unless the team finds probable cause. Then, a league expert must decide whether the player can be required to take a test.
The Journal said the team never consulted an NBA expert, even after doctors at New England Baptist Hospital told team officials they thought he should be tested.
``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,'' NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said.
The article also said Lewis' family and the team would collect upwards of $15 million in insurance - but not if there was a drug link. The Journal quoted a doctor who consulted on the autopsy as saying that a lawyer for Lewis' family threatened to sue if anything came out about drugs.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB