On April 22nd, Dwight Davis, former professional basketball player, addressed the Rotary club of Nashua, regarding his life story. Dwight is a current community activist and motivation speaker. Currently he is vice president of the retired NBA players association. He played at University of Houston prior to playing with the Cleveland Cavs. He has followed his career with many community-related activities and organizations. He lives with his wife and five children in the Seacoast region of NH. He is currently involved with starting and supporting NH Senior Helpers.
Dwight arrived early and was entertained by the banter at his Rotary table. He has lived in NH for the last fifteen years after moving here to be with his wife who was working at Cabletron. He likes our Motto – “Live Free or Die”.
He is the middle of 5 children being raised in Houston in a segregated community. He had role model parents who gave him great morals and taught him the importance of community. He did not always aspire to be a basketball player but had a good friend who loved basketball. Dwight was a better student than ball player.
Red Auerbach, wrote about basketball fundamentals and Dwight read his book. He found it helped him improve his game considerably. Slowly he improved and graduated high school in 1968 as class salutatorian. He had his pick of colleges to attend. He chose to stay in Houston at the University of Houston to be close to the family. He continued to improve as a ball player while studying as a pharmacy major.
He was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1972 for 5year contract for $100,000 per year. He got traded to the Golden State Warriors. He was injured in his 5th year tearing his quadriceps tendon playing the Boston Celtics. The injury ended his career, which was by now his biggest passion in life.
With his career ending sooner than expected and fell into a deep hole after which led drug and alcohol abuse. He now is active fighting to help those who have drug addiction problems. He realizes how important having people around to support him are to help fight the addiction battle. His addiction fight lasted 20 years. He had a moment of clarity was when he was contemplating suicide and realized he had to change. He had a medical intervention in Hartford that led to his divorce from his 2nd wife. He was nearly arrested in Houston by an officer who showed him a dashboard cam of his chase while he was in a black out from drugs. He realized that continuing this behavior could kill someone else. This was a turning point.
Now his work is primarily with addiction and senior living support here in NH. He supports any and all people who work with others to support their needs. He has been sober and living a ‘clean’ life for the last 15 years. He got married to a wonderful lady and is now a small business owner. He is a NH Business Award winner for healthcare. He is not happy with the path his life has taken but is realizes sharing his experiences can help others.
A few Questions and Answers followed – What could be done to help with the drug problem? We need to help families and young single parents who don’t have the resources to set up their kids for success. Starting early helps both the parent and the child. His business has certified help – for caregiving, medical and specialized needs. He also has companion care and some certified nurses at different levels. His business is licensed by the state to provide all the needed services.