When it happened again, this time on a pull-up jumper, Jordan became irked. "For something like this to come out to just tarnish an image, it doesn't even have to be true. They knew Reggie Lewis was no slouch. [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. He died when several different problems caused his enlarged heart to beat irregularly, said Evans, repeating the finding on the athlete's death certificate. It was considered career-ending. * The Celtics told Mr. Lewis' doctors -- incorrectly -- that National Basketball Association rules prevented them from forcing Mr. Lewis to submit to drug tests -- tests that, if positive, would have allowed him to seek life-saving medical help, but also might have forced an end to a career that was lucrative to Mr. Lewis and the team. 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. 2 Grizzlies, Celtics-76ers first look: What could decide the battle of East heavyweights, Pregame chats, language arts and 'a lot of fines': Inside NBA player-ref dynamics, Recipient of Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award. 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. Here's where we pause for a moment to understand the magnitude of what Jordan is saying. 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. Utah was 3-0 against bowl teams last fall. Both were fined $500, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. The possibility of another one existed when the torch was passed to Reggie Lewis.. McBride's 1994 Utes tied the school record with eight straight wins, finishing 10-2. 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. Remembering Reggie Lewis, 20 years after his tragic death - ESPN The newspaper's report offered no proof of cocaine abuse. From 1988-93, he was 1 of 6 players to post 7.5K PTS, 1.5K REBS, 1K ASTS & 500 STLS. "He was a gamer. Over his four years at Northeastern, Lewis scored 2,708 points, still the all-time record at the university. "The defendants want to avoid facing their negligence, and to distract attention from the truth with lies and unfounded rumors.". L He charged further that the article was motivated by racism. MJ was the best player in the game, the perfect measuring stick for a young player trying to establish credibility. Though having collapsed earlier in the year, which weakens, inflames and enlarges the muscle, Lewis continued to play, not fully aware of the danger to his heart. During a 1993 playoff game against the Charlotte Hornets, Lewis fell to the floor with nobody around him. What is evident: The official cause of death, a heart damaged by a common-cold virus, is a medically nonsensical finding by a coroner who was under intense pressure from the Lewis family to exclude any implication of drug use. ", 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.". January 14, 2010- To this day, it still shocks former Dunbar High School basketball coach Bob Wade when he thinks back to June 1993, when he first heard that his star former student, 27-year-old Reggie Lewis, 67 and 195 pounds, the top scorer and center for the Boston Celtics, had suddenly collapsed and died during basketball shoot-around. Enter the last name, specialty or keyword for your search below. Reggie Lewis Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 The Celtics had created a marketing poster declaring the "Changing of the Guards," featuring Lewis and Shaw towering over the parquet, with championship banners in the background. "From a medical perspective, looking at a heart, you can't tell what was going on," Dr. Gold said. The extra adrenalin is like poison to the heart. [10] One of the officers was James Crowley. How many other NBA players can lay claim to making Michael Jordan feel that way? SF tourists go in droves to In-N-Out. He spent a lot of time improving his game. This need became more urgent after Len Bias, the 2nd overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, died of a cocaine overdose.[5]. Reggie Lewis never had the chance to keep pace. . 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. MJ dismissed Reggie's initial block as an anomaly. Health officials in one region of Italy reported that screening had saved at least 22 lives. By his second season, thanks in part to a new coach (and an injury to Bird), Lewis averaged over 30 minutes and scored 18.5 points per game. He consistently raised his level of play during the postseason, averaging as many as 28.0 points per game in the 1991-92 playoffs. The Celtics selected Lewis with the 22nd overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. It was during a workout at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, on July 27, 1993, when Lewis collapsed on the court and died. That's one reason why he never used drugs. Following the death information, people wonder what Reggie Lewis's cause of death was. [1] At the age of 27, Lewis died while still a member of the Celtics, and his number was posthumously retired by the team. It also left the Celtics without a star. Their vulnerable condition precluded them from any highly strenuous activity, and the rising number of occurrences is what compelled him to organize the weekend screening. By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Staff,July 28, 2013, 12:00 a.m. 11. Autopsy results found Lewis had a large, extensively scarred heart, and the cause of that scar tissue is still not known. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? Just to throw that bone out there so people think about it, I think that's not right at all.". And until she's ready to make that trip . There, Dr. Mudge performed further tests and concluded that Mr. Lewis had neurocardiogenic syncope, a benign confusion in the electrical signals running between the brain and the heart that was causing the heart to slow down at inappropriate moments. "Any allegation that economic or monetary concerns could have conceivably played a role in any care that Reggie Lewis got are absolutely ludicrous," he said. He stumbled to his feet and was dazed and confused. 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. . They faced a public relations nightmare. Boston turned out en masse to say goodbye to Celtic captain Reggie Lewis, whose death at age 27 has raised troubling questions. Had Reggie Lewis lived, would there have been additional battles with Jordan to add to the highlight reel? Was he going left or right? I called Jordan earlier this week to see if he had any recollections of a young Lewis blocking him four times. Midway through his first season in the NBA, I asked him how he was holding up. As a Celtic, he and his family lived in Dedham, Massachusetts. Lawyers for the doctors could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. He left having scored 17 points in 13 minutes. Printouts from a test that illuminates how blood moves through the heart prominently showed three black patches - dead spots - on the left ventricle. New masking guidelines are in effect starting April 24. Brian Shaw and Reggie Lewis planned to grow up in the NBA together. That came from Gilbert H. Mudge, director of clinical cardiology at a Harvard teaching hospital, who said Lewis suffered from a benign neurological disorder. He loved it. "There will absolutely be no Q-and-A. In the initial shock, the death of basketball star Reggie Lewis last week seemed a grim parable of the seductive power of professional sports -- of an athlete so devoted to a game and its rewards that he would distort medical truth in order to keep playing. Calhoun firmly believes Lewis would have been a Hall of Famer. } Mr. Gavitt told Mr. Lewis' doctors that the ailing star "couldn't be forced into it." He also said he experienced guilt. He shot the ball. The Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Johns Hopkins Health System. Experts estimate that one in 500 Americans has undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Parish played his final game as a member of the Celtics in 1994. Medical Examiner Repeats 1st Finding of Cause of Death - Sfgate But as he was running down the left side of the parquet, he inexplicably stumbled, then fell. Lewis was told his condition was most likely career-ending. . "It's thought to be the most common cause of unexplained heart damage in young, otherwise healthy people. Reggie Lewis - Bio, Personal Life, Family & Cause Of Death - CelebsAges Many cases go undiagnosed, Abraham adds, because the young athletes healthy appearance and peak physical condition may mask their underlying sickness. His considerable skills were matched by a silent, patient resolve that served him well. We intend to sue the reporter, Ron Suskind, the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, Dow Jones and Company Inc., for $100 million. But two top heart experts in Baltimore disagreed. 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. 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. The death certificate is expected to help clarify Lewis case. Test results will be reported to each athlete on site, along with recommended follow-ups if problems are detected. He reached forward to stretch his legs. 1998 The Associated Press. He revived on his own, but was pulled from the game due to shortness of breath and dizziness. His heart damage still could have been caused by a virus. The diagnosis was that Lewis suffered from focal cardiomyopathy, a condition of the heart muscle that could cause heart failure. In Game 4, he topped that with 42 points, six assists and five steals. But Dr. Gold said it is difficult to tell whether cocaine, a virus, alcohol or other factors caused the heart damage. 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.". January 14, 2010- To this day, it still shocks former Dunbar High School basketball coach Bob Wade when he thinks back to June 1993, when he first heard that his star former student, 27-year-old Reggie Lewis, 6'7" and 195 pounds, the top scorer and center for the Boston Celtics, had suddenly collapsed and died during basketball shoot-around. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Lewis attended high school at Dunbar High School, where he played basketball alongside future NBA players Muggsy Bogues and David Wingate. At a Boston news conference yesterday, the team's majority stockholder, Paul Gaston, criticized the Journal for suggesting in the Page 1 article that the team sought, for financial reasons, to cover up suspicions that drug use lay behind Mr. Lewis' illness, thereby undermining his care. You could always tell that.". The death of Reggie Lewis, Boston Celtic captain, was the result of a viral infection severely damaging his heart, leaving him vulnerable to . But the information presented regarding Reggie Lewis is true, and we found a . #inline-recirc-item--id-b3f182ca-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { The following day, the Celtics gathered a dozen heart specialists through New England Baptist Hospital, a dream team of doctors, according to The Boston Globe. He was evolving into a superstar before our eyes. Mr. Lewis, whose $1 billion acquisition in 1987 of the Beatrice . "It was so surprising, so sad. "Reggie and I were really close friends," Derrick Lewis said. "Just waiting my turn.". "The adenovirus 2 finding was wildly improbable," said Dr. Jeffrey Isner, the sole cardiologist who consulted on the autopsy. } . 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. "He was showing us older guys respect," Jordan said, "but he also knew he belonged.". The Journal said these "dismissive policies regarding drugs may have affected human behavior and medical procedure in a fatal fashion.". He merely smiled and made a move to the basket.