Because of the differing views, Lewis had a team of L.A. specialists review the data. title by defeating Walter Ray Williams Jr., 276-238, in a tournament at Richmond Heights, Mo. display: block; 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. Mr. Gavitt told Mr. Lewis' doctors that the ailing star "couldn't be forced into it." There was insurance coverage of more than $15 million that could be paid to the Lewis family and the Celtics only if there was no link to drugs. But Dr. Gold said it is difficult to tell whether cocaine, a virus, alcohol or other factors caused the heart damage. They often found out differently when he stripped the ball from them or sent their jump shot into the seats. Yet, Shaw said, Lewis was neither awed nor intimidated by competing against MJ. New masking guidelines are in effect starting April 24. reggie lewis diedreggie lewis death videodonna harris-lewisreggie lewis death videoreggie lewis death on court In Lewis honor, his mother, Peggy Rich, has endorsed the Heart Hype event and plans to speak at a reception being held the night before. 1998 The Associated Press. SF tourists go in droves to In-N-Out. As the trio got older, Lewis got better. Theodore Abraham, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.S.E. "I don't give a damn what people say. Dr. Stephen Gottlieb, associate professor and director of the heart failure service at the University of Maryland Medical System, said that although physicians ruled out various viruses in earlier testing of Mr. Lewis, that doesn't mean they ruled all of them out. There was the 1984 NCAA tournament game against VCU, when he was close to unstoppable. A doctor defending himself against a malpractice suit in the death of Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis said Lewis told him he had used cocaine, according to court . I firmly believe that this is certainly a part of this article.". All five consulting physicians in the case, plus three medical labs, agreed that drugs were not involved in the death of the Boston Celtics' captain, Evans said. 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. His death was attributed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a structural heart defect that is the most common cause of death in young athletes.[11][12]. Lawyers for the doctors could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Hookailo said defense attorneys have rejected Northeastern's compromise. BOSTON - Reggie Lewis did not die as a result of cocaine use, according to a review of the Boston Celtics star's autopsy. He refused. Lewis death shocked the world. This article is about the professional basketball player. The Celtics plan to retire Mr. Lewis' uniform number during halftime of a game on March 22, a ceremony the club says will go on as scheduled. Lewis sat, dazed, on the court. He played 15 minutes, scoring 7 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. This need became more urgent after Len Bias, the 2nd overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, died of a cocaine overdose.[5]. Our goal this year is to screen an even larger number of athletes than last years event, says Theodore Abraham, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.S.E., a cardiologist and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and director of Johns Hopkins' Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Clinic. Mr. Lewis, whose $1 billion acquisition in 1987 of the Beatrice . Before his doctors got any further with the case, however, Mr. Lewis packed up, left Baptist Hospital and checked into Brigham and Women's Hospital -- a respected affiliate of Harvard University. All Rights Reserved. B/W PHOTO: [excerpt of story printed in The Wall Street Journal]COLOR PHOTO:EVAN RICHMAN/THE BOSTON GLOBEAfter the Lewises left Baptist (top), Mudge gave Reggie an optimistic prognosis, but two months after he and the doctor hugged, Reggie died in the gym (opposite) of causes that the death certificate (far right) may or may not have pinpointed. He was a tough matchup, and he had those long arms that really bothered me. They shared an agent, bought their houses at the same time, picked out new BMWs just days apart. But it said the official cause of Mr. Lewis' death -- heart damage because of a viral infection -- has been rejected by cardiologists who examined him after a fainting spell during a game months before his death or later after his death. 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.". Our experts predict every series, 2023 NBA playoffs: Second-round series, Finals, MVP odds, 'He looks better than ever': Why the Orlando bubble was 'just the beginning' for Jamal Murray, Memphis wasn't 'fine in the West' -- getting there hinges on massive culture questions, 'Help the bear': LeBron James trolls Dillon Brooks, Memphis Grizzlies, Why the Lakers' real test begins now, after dispatching the No. Mr. Lewis' doctors immediately began to question him about drug use after the fainting incident. Andy Neuer won his first Professional Bowlers Assn. I was getting some furniture, and he said, Hey man, I got clearance to play. I called Jordan earlier this week to see if he had any recollections of a young Lewis blocking him four times. He soon left to seek care at another hospital. "There was a lot of pressure on him, but it didn't seem to faze him at all.". Lewis transferred to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where another team, this one led by Dr. Gilbert Mudge, diagnosed him with a less-harmful neurological condition. He made his way back onto the court later in the game but quickly came back to the bench after experiencing dizziness. MEDICAL EXAMINER REPEATS 1ST FINDING OF CAUSE OF DEATH, Dubs fans picking apart video of possible Poole-Draymond incident, Bay Area preschool teacher suspected of dumping body along road, Bay Area mom influencer found guilty of lying about kidnapping, 'Horrible': Oakland rapper dumps on Chase Center Warriors fans, More rain, 'unseasonably chilly' temperatures coming to Bay Area, Destructive landslide closes historic California institution, 49ers out in full force at Warriors-Kings Game 7, Sold-out Berkeley crowd gets rowdy at country star's concert, Shock, fear as 2 killings in 3 days rock quiet Davis. . Mr. Lewis denied using drugs, but refused to allow his blood or urine to be tested. He was 50 and lived in Manhattan and Paris. The news of 27-year-old Reggie Lewis's fatal heart attack on Tuesday, July 27, hit the citizens of Boston and the basketball community as a whole like a blow to the solar plexussome kind of sudden pain that, in the . 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.. 'Irrational confidence', Stars pay tribute to Stephen Curry after 50-point NBA playoff game, Which teams will reach the NBA conference finals? He initially went unrecruited by most Division I programs -- except by dogged Northeastern coach Jim Calhoun, who saw something special in the slender, shy wing player. Then, there were the financial interests. He was popular for being a Basketball Player. The next day, he entered Boston's New England Baptist Hospital for a battery of tests. And by the fourth time, on a lefty drive to the hoop, Jordan was irritated -- and somewhat spooked. He had previously collapsed during a game, and a team of New England Baptist Hospital doctors said he had a life-threatening heart ailment and warned that his career was in jeopardy. } By all accounts, Lewis was primed to make the leap to the team's go-to scorer for the rest of the 90s. He died when several different problems caused his enlarged heart to beat irregularly, said Evans, repeating the finding on the athlete's death certificate. ), 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. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. He just came to play. "But he was a worker. Stanton C. Kessler, the associate chief medical examiner of Massachusetts who signed the death certificate, told the New York Times that a virus was found in Lewis heart and it caused myocarditis, an inflammation that scars and enlarges the heart. Nobody ever gave Jordan any flak over his performance that night. Follow us on Twitter @sportscasting19 and subscribe to our YouTube channel. The death of Reggie Lewis, Boston Celtic captain, was the result of a viral infection severely damaging his heart, leaving him vulnerable to the kind of abnormal heart rhythm that killed him last July, according to his death certificate. "To me, this was an example of gutless journalism, yellow journalism -- based fully on a complete disregard for the truth. They knew Reggie Lewis was no slouch. Printouts from a test that illuminates how blood moves through the heart prominently showed three black patches - dead spots - on the left ventricle. The Celtics selected Lewis with the 22nd overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. Recent media reports have raised questions about whether drug use weakened his heart. He was evolving into a superstar before our eyes. Discover what's to love about Charm City for yourself. What Killed Reggie Lewis? 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. "His length confused me," Jordan conceded. Jordan won six with the Bulls. "Joe never talked trash," Jordan said. Each athlete will receive a cardiac ultrasound, or echocardiogram, to measure heart size and its pumping function, including blood volume, and to check for faulty valves. On Sunday, Lewis' third day in the hospital, a team of top doctors met and went over the test results. According to depositions, Lewis and his teammate Andre LeFleur first delayed taking a school-administered drug test. Such scarring also might be caused by poison, medications, alcohol or infection. The NBA said that Roy Tarpley, who was banished in 1991 because of drug problems, has applied for reinstatement, and, at the request of his agent, the Dallas Mavericks have talked with their 7-foot center, who plays in Greece. "The Celtics are saddened by the vicious attack on Reggie Lewis and his family.". Reggie did not do drugs, period. "And Reggie was the same way. The Johns Hopkins team of more than 70 includes cardiologists, medical residents, nurses, ultrasound technicians, administrative assistants and community volunteers. They even went out and bought life insurance policies together. This article was compiled by Sun staff writer Frank D. Roylance, with reporting by staff writers Diana Sugg and Mike Preston and Ken Rosenthal and contributing writer Ian Browne. 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. "Basically, what the diagnosis comes down to is circumstantial evidence. When Reggie Lewis collapsed and died on July 27, 1993, at the age of 27, he was already a husband, a father, a community leader, an NBA All-Star and a Celtics captain. The Celtics responded by threatening to file a $100 million lawsuit against the reporter, the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, Dow Jones and Co. Inc. "The story was written with complete disregard for the truth," the team said in a statement. During a 1993 playoff game against the Charlotte Hornets, Lewis fell to the floor with nobody around him. "I was in Chicago when I got the news," Jordan said. Lewis was examined by 12 experts who concluded that he suffered from a life-threatening disease that would most likely end his career. [1] At the age of 27, Lewis died while still a member of the Celtics, and his number was posthumously retired by the team. . The Big Three dominated throughout the 1980s. That was about it. That clause was never invoked in Mr. Lewis' case, despite the mounting medical evidence, the Journal said. He later went on to win three rings with the Los Angeles Lakers. Young people are not supposed to die, especially when they are in what we believe to be peak physical form, says Wade, current coordinator of athletics for the Baltimore City Public School System. Potential causes include viruses, medications, illegal drugs, poisons and . 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. [citation needed], On March 22, 1995, the Boston Celtics retired Lewis' jersey. He didn't do it.". About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Utah was 3-0 against bowl teams last fall. display: none; Experts estimate that one in 500 Americans has undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 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.". Baptist Hospital, meanwhile, gathered a team of a dozen cardiologists from New England hospitals to review the case. "He was a model citizen. Most players weren't athletic enough to literally "hang" with Jordan. "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. Get directions, important phone numbers, locations and more. "For something like this to come out to just tarnish an image, it doesn't even have to be true. "He had those long arms that really bothered me. Lewis' widow, Donna Harris-Lewis, denied today that he refused to take a drug test and said he didn't use drugs. That also began a string of eight straight years without a winning record. But as he was running down the left side of the parquet, he inexplicably stumbled, then fell. "The adenovirus 2 finding was wildly improbable," said Dr. Jeffrey Isner, the sole cardiologist who consulted on the autopsy. "Reggie was hard to stop," Bird said. He never relinquished his own aggressiveness. 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. He became an NBA All-Star during the 1991-92 season when he averaged 20.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. "They are worse than ludicrous. From 1988-93, he was 1 of 6 players to post 7.5K PTS, 1.5K REBS, 1K ASTS & 500 STLS. He was 27. They faced a public relations nightmare. Dr. Stanton Kessler, the deputy medical examiner, told the Journal that he stood by his findings. A drug scandal - especially coming after the death of Len Bias of a cocaine overdose in 1986, a day after being drafted by the Celtics - would be potentially damaging to the NBA and the Celtics. Boston Celtics small forward who tragically died of heart failure on the court at the age of 27. He spent a lot of time improving his game. It is in Lewis memory that Wade now wants to help other young athletes who may be at risk of sudden death and not know it. But African-Americans are more vulnerable, with two to three times the rate of sudden cardiac death than in whites. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. We'd been pressing him about cocaine for days," Dr. Thomas Nessa, who was leading the medical team, told the Journal. Jordan retreated to the visitor's locker room shaking his head. ", Asked if anyone else had ever blocked four of his shots in one game, Jordan answered, "No one had ever done it before, and no one has done it since.". [10] One of the officers was James Crowley. -- Utah football coach Ron McBride, who last fall led the Utes to their best season in school history, has agreed to a new five-year contract. He told the athlete privately that his career was over. When Reggie Lewis collapsed and died on July 27, 1993, at the age of 27, he was already a husband, a father, a community leader, an NBA All-Star and a Celtics captain. It would be virtually impossible to prove it was cocaine that killed him.". December 29, 1998 / 10:15 PM / AP. But the information presented regarding Reggie Lewis is true, and we found a . A single dose can increase heart rate and blood pressure, narrow the arteries and cause a heart attack. He loved it. "There will absolutely be no Q-and-A. Lemieux punched Brett Lindros on Sunday while the New York Islander right wing was pinned against the boards. . His cause of death was cited as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a common athletic ailment where the heart thickens, eventually causing heart attacks and cardiac arrest. http://www.hopkinsheart.org/clinical-services/centers-excellence/center-excellence-hcm.html, David March 410-955-1534 office; 410-598-7056 cellular; dmarch1@jhmi.edu. You could always tell that.". "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. At the age of 27, Lewis died while still a member of the Celtics, and his number was posthumously retired by the team. }, First published on December 29, 1998 / 10:15 PM. 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. 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. Doctors tried to get answers. The preliminary autopsy found that Lewis' heart was "abnormal, enlarged and extensively scarred" and that "preliminary drug screenings show no evidence of drug abuse.". Baltimore native Reggie Lewis was on his way to becoming an NBA legend when the young basketball star tragically collapsed on the court, leading to a death that shook the sports world. "When Reggie first came into the league," Bird told me, "he really didn't know how to play the game. "When Reggie first came into the league, he really didn't know how to play the game. Philips is providing the 20 ultrasound machines and 15 electrocardiographs for EKG screening, plus supplies, needed for the event. Jordan was about to win his fifth consecutive scoring title and his first NBA championship. Unfortunately, that path was cut tragically short. } Over his four years at Northeastern, Lewis scored 2,708 points, still the all-time record at the university. The 24-year-old daughter of former Celtics great Reggie Lewis never met her father, born a few months after his tragic and untimely death 25 years ago. "I miss the closeness of having a friend who was going through the same things as me. Two Brandeis University police officers found Lewis and attempted to revive him using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but they were unsuccessful. The autopsy found the heart "abnormal, enlarged and extensively scarred," but there was no trace of drugs. "A lot of people just knew Reggie as a basketball player, but the guys on the team knew him off the court," he said. Explore our state-of-the-art patient care facilities in the Sheikh Zayed Tower. They were unable to determine which diagnosis was correct, but wanted Lewis monitored closely. He was kind and caring, and this is the way I'll remember him and I encourage everybody to do the same," she said at a news conference at the Celtics' offices. Though his cause of death was later determined to be cardiac arrhythmia, at the time of his death, there was speculation that he had been using performance-enhancing drugs.

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