Grief remains 20 years after Ricky Berry suicide

Firefly5 · 08-14-2009, 06:29 PM

Some days there are reminders that bring it back. Ricky Berry, in clear focus.

The warmth. The skills. The potential. And, of course, the sudden end. A man with an impulsive thought and a gun.

The Ricky Berry suicide was a tragedy that still resonates all these years later.

"Every time I do a basketball camp, I think of him," said Harold Pressley, who lost his Kings teammate and close friend 20 years ago today.

"This camp now? Ricky would have loved all these smiles. I still feel him today, and I still can't understand why he's not here."

Jeff Logan can't shake it, either. He was Berry's closest friend. Berry was the godfather of Logan's daughter.

"Time," Logan said from Los Angeles this week, "gives you perspective."

Perspective but few answers. Berry was seemingly without burden in 1989. He played with purpose and promise, a 6-foot-8 swingman, all of 24 years old, who could score and rebound. He averaged 18.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in the final six weeks of his rookie season. And he had everything to live for: fame, fortune, family, friends.

Despite outward appearances, something troubled Berry, and he made a decision. He placed a 9 mm pistol to his temple in his new Carmichael home.

The Kings' darkest hour wasn't last season, when they managed a franchise-worst 17 wins. It was Aug. 14, 1989.

"Such a great kid and such a great loss," said Jerry Reynolds, Berry's coach with the Kings who now is in the team's front office. "He had the potential to be a major star. And it really threw this franchise into a fog."

Berry's death changed lives, and it altered the course of the franchise.

"Besides the tragedy, it changed the Kings greatly," Kings veteran TV announcer Grant Napear said. "The two biggest moves in franchise history were Mitch Richmond and Chris Webber. The Kings don't trade for Richmond if Ricky was still alive, and Richmond later became Webber (in a trade).

"In all my years here, Ricky's at the top of the list in terms of bewilderment, surprise, shock, sadness."

The prevailing question then and now remains. Why?

Toxicology reports revealed Berry was drug- and alcohol-free. Those who were with him up to his final days said he seemed in typically good spirits. He conducted a free basketball clinic for underprivileged children at Sacramento State three days before his death. He and his wife of 15 months, Valerie, were to go on a cruise in the Bahamas later that August.

"Suicide, man … it's still hard to make any sense of it," said Bobby Gerould, the son of Kings radio voice Gary Gerould, who was with Berry hours before his death. "He had to have something going on, something deep, but to take your life? How fragile is that?"

Berry and his wife argued the night before, according to police reports and neighbors. There were reports they had feuded before. Valerie stayed overnight with friends that fateful Sunday evening. The next morning, she found Berry's body on their living room floor, a suicide note nearby. The farewell message mentioned Berry's dissatisfaction with his marriage. It also read, "I will feel no pain."

"I couldn't believe it, and I pursued it with (law enforcement) for a long time," Gerould said. "I kept thinking someone did that to him. I refused to believe he'd shoot himself."

Logan and Berry spoke on the phone every day. Except the final day.

"Ricky and Valerie, they had a rocky marriage," Logan said. "Here she was thrust into this new lifestyle.

"There's no school to prepare you to be a pro athlete's wife, and I think that had something to do with it. And the pressure Ricky must have felt of being Ricky Berry and not a Ricky Jones had something to do with it. Bless his soul, but I wish he'd have given himself an hour, a day, to think about what he was going to do.

"He needed to get away. Maybe not talk to people in his circle – me, Bobby Gerould, Harold Pressley, whoever, because athletes don't like to show weakness. Talk to someone on a suicide hotline, someone he doesn't know."

3percent · 08-14-2009, 08:09 PM

R. I. P - ......smh....

08-14-2009, 06:29 PM	#1
Firefly5 Droppin' Knowledge Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sacramento Posts: 4,103 Repped: 1,100 Repped 680 Times in 242 Posts Neg Reps: 57 Neg Repped at 22 Times in 20 Posts	Grief remains 20 years after Ricky Berry suicide Grief remains 20 years after Ricky Berry suicide Some days there are reminders that bring it back. Ricky Berry, in clear focus. The warmth. The skills. The potential. And, of course, the sudden end. A man with an impulsive thought and a gun. The Ricky Berry suicide was a tragedy that still resonates all these years later. "Every time I do a basketball camp, I think of him," said Harold Pressley, who lost his Kings teammate and close friend 20 years ago today. "This camp now? Ricky would have loved all these smiles. I still feel him today, and I still can't understand why he's not here." Jeff Logan can't shake it, either. He was Berry's closest friend. Berry was the godfather of Logan's daughter. "Time," Logan said from Los Angeles this week, "gives you perspective." Perspective but few answers. Berry was seemingly without burden in 1989. He played with purpose and promise, a 6-foot-8 swingman, all of 24 years old, who could score and rebound. He averaged 18.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in the final six weeks of his rookie season. And he had everything to live for: fame, fortune, family, friends. Despite outward appearances, something troubled Berry, and he made a decision. He placed a 9 mm pistol to his temple in his new Carmichael home. The Kings' darkest hour wasn't last season, when they managed a franchise-worst 17 wins. It was Aug. 14, 1989. "Such a great kid and such a great loss," said Jerry Reynolds, Berry's coach with the Kings who now is in the team's front office. "He had the potential to be a major star. And it really threw this franchise into a fog." Berry's death changed lives, and it altered the course of the franchise. "Besides the tragedy, it changed the Kings greatly," Kings veteran TV announcer Grant Napear said. "The two biggest moves in franchise history were Mitch Richmond and Chris Webber. The Kings don't trade for Richmond if Ricky was still alive, and Richmond later became Webber (in a trade). "In all my years here, Ricky's at the top of the list in terms of bewilderment, surprise, shock, sadness." The prevailing question then and now remains. Why? Toxicology reports revealed Berry was drug- and alcohol-free. Those who were with him up to his final days said he seemed in typically good spirits. He conducted a free basketball clinic for underprivileged children at Sacramento State three days before his death. He and his wife of 15 months, Valerie, were to go on a cruise in the Bahamas later that August. "Suicide, man … it's still hard to make any sense of it," said Bobby Gerould, the son of Kings radio voice Gary Gerould, who was with Berry hours before his death. "He had to have something going on, something deep, but to take your life? How fragile is that?" Berry and his wife argued the night before, according to police reports and neighbors. There were reports they had feuded before. Valerie stayed overnight with friends that fateful Sunday evening. The next morning, she found Berry's body on their living room floor, a suicide note nearby. The farewell message mentioned Berry's dissatisfaction with his marriage. It also read, "I will feel no pain." "I couldn't believe it, and I pursued it with (law enforcement) for a long time," Gerould said. "I kept thinking someone did that to him. I refused to believe he'd shoot himself." Logan and Berry spoke on the phone every day. Except the final day. "Ricky and Valerie, they had a rocky marriage," Logan said. "Here she was thrust into this new lifestyle. "There's no school to prepare you to be a pro athlete's wife, and I think that had something to do with it. And the pressure Ricky must have felt of being Ricky Berry and not a Ricky Jones had something to do with it. Bless his soul, but I wish he'd have given himself an hour, a day, to think about what he was going to do. "He needed to get away. Maybe not talk to people in his circle – me, Bobby Gerould, Harold Pressley, whoever, because athletes don't like to show weakness. Talk to someone on a suicide hotline, someone he doesn't know." __________________ San Francisco 49ERS 2009 NFC West Champs

08-14-2009, 08:09 PM	#2
3percent Veteran Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: K-Dubbz - Ya Hear'd Me Posts: 2,533 Repped: 203 Repped 119 Times in 55 Posts Neg Reps: 175 Neg Repped at 45 Times in 31 Posts	R. I. P - ......smh.... __________________ I Have Lots To Say When I Say IT! But For Now Chill....Cause I Didn't say IT! BUT I WILL! http://3percent.evony.com <<< not a bad lil game....

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