Autopsy Reveals Eddie Griffin Was Intoxicated

This is a somewhat predictable ending to a sad story: Eddie Griffin was drunk at the time of his death. As in, very drunk. An autopsy performed on the former NBA player's body revealed that his blood-alcohol limit was 0.26 when he drove his SUV into a moving train this summer. The legal limit in Texas is 0.08.

Griffin's problems were re-hashed over and over again at the time of his death, and there was at least some (apparently misguided) speculation that he may have taken his own life on purpose. In retrospect, that doesn't seem to be the case. He was apparently talking on his cell phone at the time of the accident, which suggests he was drunk and distracted, not suicidal. That same lethal combination also took the life of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock last spring.

Considering the friends and family that Griffin left behind, it's more than a little cold that he's publicly measured solely by his ill-fated NBA career. He was more than just an ex-jock; he was a son, a brother and a father. He was also an alcoholic, and as such struggled with a disease that afflicts millions of other Americans. Hopefully his death won't be in vain, convincing at least one person to call a taxi instead of getting behind the wheel after having too much to drink.

(via Ballhype)