As a McDonald’s All-American basketball player, Chris Herren remembers blowing off assemblies in high school about drug and alcohol abuse, thinking that negative impact would never happen to him.
But years down the line, Herren’s professional basketball career — which included stints with the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics — would be derailed by substance abuse and addiction.
“I think this is about our self-esteem and our self-worth,” Herren told a group of students from Burrell, Kiski Area, Greensburg-Salem and Norwin high schools at Burrell on Wednesday. “I think this is about the kid we feel like we have to pretend to be, to be friends with kids, not because we really want to be. I think it’s about the risks we take, the sacrifices we make.
“Because I can say this: I wish I had the confidence at this age to tell my friends, ‘I’ll catch up with you later.’ I wish I’d walked out of the auditorium, walked into my coach’s office, maybe a teacher I trusted, I wish I looked at them at 16 years old and just simply said to them, ‘I don’t like the kid I am anymore.’
“’You don’t know me, you just know the kid I pretend to be. I’m so much better than this.’”
For much of Herren’s career, he struggled with substance use.
Herren was introduced to cocaine during his freshman year at Boston College and was later kicked out of the school for substance abuse. He transferred to Fresno State but ended his career there early to seek treatment for his substance use disorder.
In 2004, Herren was charged with possession of heroin. An overdose-induced car crash in 2008 led him to become sober.
He completed rehabilitation programs and has been drug and alcohol free since 2008, becoming a motivational speaker.
In 2018, he founded Herren Wellness, a residential drug rehabilitation and treatment center.
In the past 15 years, Herren said he’s given his talks to more than 2 million people — ranging from professional sports teams, the military and high schoolers.
He admits his story isn’t for everyone.
“I pray it’s for no one, but the chances are, it’s for a few of you,” he said. “If I can get one kid in this auditorium … to say to themselves, ‘Honestly, I need to be better. I don’t like the kid I’m pretending to be now; there’s things I want to change.’”
Herren emphasized the need for honesty and support from friends and family.
“It touched my heart a little bit,” said Julian Bertucci, a Burrell senior. “I’m an athlete, and seeing someone go down that road is kind of scary. Having someone so successful fall because of this and addiction, it touched me.”
As someone who plans to wrestle in college, hearing Herren’s story was impactful, Bertucci said.
“Some people don’t have as much support that I have with my family,” Bertucci said. “It opened my eyes: I’m really lucky to have what I have right now.”
Justin Miller, a Burrell physical education teacher, said he remembered watching Herren play basketball growing up but had never known his full story.
Miller acknowledged the growing number of struggles students face today, like social media pressures and poor influences. He encouraged students to get to know their peers a little bit better and support them.
Miller and Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli worked together to secure Herren’s visit to Burrell. The presentation was funded through drug forfeiture money, Ziccarelli said.
“We’re worried about prevention,” Ziccarelli told students. “We don’t want to see you on the flip side, so we try to do as much as we possibly can to get out ahead of things and educate you as much as we can.”
Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at kstepler@triblive.com.
