Lasers Draw Inspiration from Chris Herren Visit

Newton, Mass (10/23/12) - On Sunday evening, Fall River's own Chris Herren spoke at Lasell College's de Witt hall, to a packed audience including over 300 athletes, students and members of the Lasell College campus community. 

Herren, a former professional basketball player, shared the story of his life and his battle with substance abuse, addiction and personal image issues. His powerful presentation detailed his experiences at Boston College and Fresno State University as well as his time with the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He talked of how his battle with substance abuse affected his career as he traveled to Italy, Poland, Turkey, China and Iran, and how his addiction left him on the brink of losing his family and his life.

Sophomore softball player Denise Archetto was amazed by his words, saying "His story engaged the audience with his tone of voice, unbelievable context, and honest regret.  This speech will be one no one forgets and hopefully helps decrease all students' perspective on drugs, alcohol, and the importance of getting help."

Herren, sober since August 1, 2008, gave the audience the road map to his recovery and talked of the challenges he faced and setbacks he suffered.

Atticus Robert, a senior men's lacrosse player knew some of Herren's story having seen the ESPN documentary "Unguarded" and found his presentation even more inspiring in person.

"He tells his story with pride, not shame. It takes a strong person to be able to kick a habit like that and an even stronger person to share it in the way that he does. His words definitely hit home to me and have sunk into my decisions." 

During his talk Herren implored the audience to seek out help for themselves or others who may be battling with personal demons saying, "The longer you wait to get help the harder it is, getting help at your age will make a big difference. You are only as sick as your secrets."