The Sad Life and Death of Former NBA Player Eddie Griffin.
August 25th 2007 03:01
NBALOUD has resisted for a few days penning a post about the death of former NBA player Eddie Griffin and the horrible way that he died. Why should we? Both the basketball blogsphere and news services would have addressed the issue far better than this writer ever could.
Yes, Griffin’s death was tragic in the manner that he passed away. And, yes, the death of a living, breathing entity is always cause for sadness. But how am I able to encapsulate what his life meant? Because I only knew of Eddie Griffin in a peripheral sense – namely I knew of him.
By all reported accounts Griffin was a person with many demons that included, alcohol and drug problems, while displaying many bouts of violence towards teammates, girlfriends and strangers.
In J.A. Adande’s excellent article in ESPN.com he writes eloquently in regards to how star basketball players are coddled and kept from socialising adequately in a real world environment. We, as a society hold our athletes in far too high of a regard and that they get too much of a free pass from accountability.
Talented youngsters who are seen to be so exceptionally skilled and are seen to be can’t miss prospects, like Eddie Griffin, are never bought to task for misdeeds and transgressions, whilst having multiple chances that isn’t available to a normal person.
The litany of troubles and charges over the years speaks volumes about a man that is a disturbed soul – assaults, suspension for violating NBA substance abuse policies, alcoholism,
and once being involved in a car crash because he was watching a porn movie whilst driving and masturbating at the same time.
At the time it may have seen as a funny story to relay to family, friends and acquaintances, but with hindsight, it’s a warning sign in regards to a man that may have been already lost to the world.
Why such a fuss over Griffin? Talent. Coming out of high school he was the most highly touted player in his class, and in Seton Hall he was an extraordinarily gifted player. The tantalising basketball skills were there for the whole world to see, and with that his demons were excused, until he ran out of chances.
Coming out of the 2001 Draft, Griffin was picked by the New Jersey Nets as the seventh overall choice. Want an illustration as to how much talent he seemingly possessed? Houston was so desperate for Eddie that they traded the rights to Jason Collins, Brandon Armstrong and Richard Jefferson for the chance to have Griffin on their team. RJ and Collins are two very good players, so there is no doubting how highly regarded Eddie was.
Teams, individuals and players thought they could save Eddie from himself, but sometimes tortured souls can never be resurrected.
One team GM in 2001 remarked to Yahoo! basketball writer, Adrian Wojnarowski, that the basketball court seemed to be the last place that Eddie Griffin wanted to be (Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports, 2007).
Griffin’s last NBA team was the Minnesota Timberwolves, with the president of the team, Kevin McHale making Eddie his personal project. McHale thought that by putting Griffin’s locker next to Kevin Garnett’s, he would be able to tap into his immense basketball potential, but it was to little avail. Eventually the T-Wolves gave up on him as well, just like New Jersey and Houston before that.
Finally, it appears that Griffin gave up on himself when he drove his SUV through boom gates and railroad warning signs, crashing his vehicle into a freight train in Houston. The accident was so bad, and Griffin’s body so burnt out, that it took dental records to identify him.
What a sad manner to end ones life.
Yes, Griffin’s death was tragic in the manner that he passed away. And, yes, the death of a living, breathing entity is always cause for sadness. But how am I able to encapsulate what his life meant? Because I only knew of Eddie Griffin in a peripheral sense – namely I knew of him.
In J.A. Adande’s excellent article in ESPN.com he writes eloquently in regards to how star basketball players are coddled and kept from socialising adequately in a real world environment. We, as a society hold our athletes in far too high of a regard and that they get too much of a free pass from accountability.
Talented youngsters who are seen to be so exceptionally skilled and are seen to be can’t miss prospects, like Eddie Griffin, are never bought to task for misdeeds and transgressions, whilst having multiple chances that isn’t available to a normal person.
The litany of troubles and charges over the years speaks volumes about a man that is a disturbed soul – assaults, suspension for violating NBA substance abuse policies, alcoholism,
RIP Eddie Griffin 1982-2007. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
At the time it may have seen as a funny story to relay to family, friends and acquaintances, but with hindsight, it’s a warning sign in regards to a man that may have been already lost to the world.
Why such a fuss over Griffin? Talent. Coming out of high school he was the most highly touted player in his class, and in Seton Hall he was an extraordinarily gifted player. The tantalising basketball skills were there for the whole world to see, and with that his demons were excused, until he ran out of chances.
Coming out of the 2001 Draft, Griffin was picked by the New Jersey Nets as the seventh overall choice. Want an illustration as to how much talent he seemingly possessed? Houston was so desperate for Eddie that they traded the rights to Jason Collins, Brandon Armstrong and Richard Jefferson for the chance to have Griffin on their team. RJ and Collins are two very good players, so there is no doubting how highly regarded Eddie was.
Teams, individuals and players thought they could save Eddie from himself, but sometimes tortured souls can never be resurrected.
One team GM in 2001 remarked to Yahoo! basketball writer, Adrian Wojnarowski, that the basketball court seemed to be the last place that Eddie Griffin wanted to be (Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports, 2007).
Griffin’s last NBA team was the Minnesota Timberwolves, with the president of the team, Kevin McHale making Eddie his personal project. McHale thought that by putting Griffin’s locker next to Kevin Garnett’s, he would be able to tap into his immense basketball potential, but it was to little avail. Eventually the T-Wolves gave up on him as well, just like New Jersey and Houston before that.
Finally, it appears that Griffin gave up on himself when he drove his SUV through boom gates and railroad warning signs, crashing his vehicle into a freight train in Houston. The accident was so bad, and Griffin’s body so burnt out, that it took dental records to identify him.
What a sad manner to end ones life.
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