Without Bias

I've been digging ESPN's documentary series 30 For 30 in which they got real filmmakers to tell the best sports stories of the last 30 years ever since ESPN has been around (hence the hokey title). So far they've had popular Hollywood directors like Barry Levison and Peter Berg tell their stories. I didn't care for Berg's story about how Wayne Gretzky was traded from Edmonton Oilers to the LA Kings which dealt a huge blow to the Canadian people. It was too slow and was a huge letdown since I usually enjoy Berg's films. I did love the one about Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes but I already knew a good deal about that story before I watched it so it didn't captivate me like the one I saw about college basketball legend Len Bias.

I caught this documentary a few weeks ago when I was taking care of my father after he had a minor hernia operation. It was 2 days filled with getting caught up on our DVR. My brother called us from Chicago and highly recommended checking out the documentary Without Bias. At first I thought it was about politics and the media circus. I had clearly no idea what it was about. I had no clue who Len Bias was. He sounded like a Jewish guy that got into trouble for stealing money or something horrible like that. My father got all excited and set it to record while we stepped out to the doctor's office for a check-up. When we got back, I hadn't seen my father that excited to see something on TV like that in a while. He clicked play and asked me if I knew who Len Bias was and I said "yes" just to get the film started and not hear a long story. I'm glad I lied. I had no idea what I was in for. It turns out that Len Bias was one of the best college basketball players of the 1980's and was a true contemporary of Michael Jordan. He was one of the reasons why the Boston Celtics sucked for the 1990's. Also, he was a reason why so many young black men got an unfair shake from the US justice system.

Most people my age and younger have never heard of this young man that had so much promise. He was 6'8 and was a marvel of a human specimen. He was fast, strong and had the purist jump-shot around. Bias worked and played hard on the court. His workout regime was of legend and lifted weights when most major sports considered it as a hindrance to speed and coordination. He was feared on the court by all and dominated games he wasn't expected to. He also came from a nice close-nit family and seemed like a good kid that was always smiling. Nothing seemed like anything could stop him. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics as the second over-all pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. He was the darling of Red Auerbach and was seen as the link that will bridge the franchise from the 1980's into the 90's by having the torch passed onto him by Larry Bird and Kevin MacHale. Then roughly 48 hours later, he overdosed from cocaine in his dorm room at the University of Maryland. His friends had to pay the price for their foolish mistakes and the Boston Celtics lost their hope for the next generation of greatness.

Filmmaker Kirk Fraiser did an excellent job telling the story of potential that never got to the arena of greatness and how those around him fell apart. A few years after his death, Len's little brother Jay was gunned down in a mall outside of Washington, DC. His best friend Brian Tribble went to jail for dealing cocaine. The University of Maryland suspended players, got their games blacklisted for a year on TV, had to have their head coach Lefty Driesell resign and unforeseen other problems. Also this high-profile death prompted lawmakers to enforce harsher laws for drug offenders.

Excellent filmmaking at it's best. It's scary how quick life can end and it tells a cautionary tale to all. I highly recommend finding this on ESPN whenever they're doing replays of it. It won't disappoint.

Here's the preview: