Eddie Griffin was killed tragically last week when his SUV was involved in a horrific collision with a freight train.  His life and ultimately his death were both tragedies.

Griffin started down his troubled path during his senior year at Roman Catholic High School.  Parade magazine named him national player of the year, but he was expelled for fighting with a teammate in school.  He was allowed to finish classes at home and received his diploma.  This allowed him to keep a scholarship from Seton Hall.

At Seton Hall, Griffin was named the Big East’s rookie of the year, but he was booed at a home game for his lack of effort.  He received a one game suspension after another fight with a teammate.

Griffin then lost two father figures in his life.  His half-brother died from a fatal heart attack, and Tommy Amaker, Griffin’s coach at Seton Hall, left to coach at Michigan.  Losing these two may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Within a week Griffin announced his entry into the 2001 NBA draft, and he was drafted seventh overall by the New Jersey Nets and traded to the Houston Rockets.  This should have been the opportunity to start down a new path but only led to more problems for Griffin.

Griffin was named to the NBA all-rookie team in 2002, but he was falling deeper into depression and alcoholism.  He was also arrested in November 2003 for allegedly punching his girlfriend in the face and shooting a pistol at her car.  In December 2003 Houston waived Griffin.  New Jersey resigned him, but he never played a minute in a Nets uniform.  Instead he was jailed for the previous shooting incident and a fight at a New Jersey hotel.

And yet Griffin was still given even more chances at redemption.  He was sent to the Betty Ford clinic for six weeks and enrolled in an alcohol treatment facility run by ex-NBA player John Lucas.

It seemed Griffin was putting his life back together when Minnesota signed him for the 2004-05 season and placed his locker next to Kevin Garnett.  Griffin contributed with 7.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game that season, and he parlayed this opportunity into a three-year $8.1 million contract extension.  In 2005-06 he led the league with 2.1 blocks per game.

Unfortunately Griffin squandered this opportunity.  Within months of signing his contract extension, he was involved in a car crash in which drunken-driving was suspected.  In January 2007, he was suspended for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program.  By March, the T-Wolves released Griffin.  After he was released he declined entering yet another drug treatment program, and he was charged on two different counts of assault.

In June 2007, Griffin started to workout in Houston in order to land a job with another team and reinvigorate his career.  On August 15, he stopped reporting to his workouts and went missing.  Two days later his SUV collided with a freight train, and he was killed.  He was only identifiable through dental records.


Part 2 of this story on Who is to Blame for Eddie Griffin's death will be posted on Wednesday

Photos Courtesy of magicvalley.com and houstist.com, respectively