by
Jeff Usry
Special To Blackflix.com
New York Knickerbocker Michael Ray Richardson was hailed as the second coming of superstar Walt "Clyde" Frazier. But Richardson's drug addition problem, spawned in the Big Apple's night life, unraveled his professional career and personal life resulting in a lifetime ban by the NBA.
Banned since 1986, Richardson says it's time to tell his story after 14 years of sobriety.
"I didn't realize it was out of control until the ban," Richardson says. "If I had been aware, I would have quit the drugs."
Richardson's says the turning point in his life was making it into the NBA and then getting banned.
"I want to be remembered as a survivor," Richardson says. And to advise young players, "professional sports and drugs don't mix."
Whatever Happened to Michael Ray?, the account of the troubled career of NBA star Michael Ray Richardson premieres 10 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 16, on Turner Network Television. |