30 for 30: Without Bias (2009)
*** (out of 4)
Documentary covering the quick rise and quicker death of Maryland star Len Bias who would see his dreams come true when drafted by the Boston Celtics only to die of a cocaine overdose soon after wards. It seems the death of Bias has been told from every angle and that's somewhat true here, although this documentary takes it a step further and looks at the fall out that would follow his death as well as the tragedy that would strike his family four years later when his brother would be shot to death. As one of the talking heads says in the film, people always want to punish someone for a death and the documentary does a great job at showing what happened to the school, head coach "Lefty" Driesell and various other players including the man who brought the cocaine to the party. There's a question brought up on how these kids got a hold of pure cocaine but this is never really followed through on but I do think the film itself doesn't point the finger at Bias enough. It gets the greatness right. It gets the tragedy surrounding his death right. I think the film should have been a tad bit tougher in blaming his death on no one but himself. Various reporters, players and coaches are interviewed and all tell wonderful stories and really bring to life Bias' and his tragic life. I think it gets summed up pretty well when someone says that everyone deserves a second chance in life but Bias didn't get that and in the end one mistake took everything away.