A lot of people know Kenny Anderson as a New York City basketball legend, an All-American at Georgia Tech and a former No. 2 overall pick and NBA All-Star.
What many don’t know, however, is that Anderson was molested as a child – twice, in fact – when he was 9 and 11.
“I held it in for 30 years,” Anderson said on The Morning Show, “so I’m getting therapy once a week and it’s helping me. It’s helping me turn my life around.”
Anderson, 43, went public with his molestations earlier this year.
“I came out, and it has helped me,” said Anderson, who was molested once by a neighbor and once by a childhood coach. “All I want to do is try to help somebody else with my voice, being that I was an NBA player, All-American and all that. Maybe a kid won’t hold it in for 30 years. When it was gong on, (the offending coach) got in trouble, and I still didn’t say anything.”
The molestations made Anderson feel he had to prove his manhood.
“When I made fame and money, I started womanizing and just acting out – so many different things,” he said. “I get real deep into it in my book, but it’s just not good. I held it in. I didn’t tell my family. I didn’t tell my mother. I didn’t tell her all these years and she passed away. She’s probably turning over in her grave. It was tough for me to come out, but I said I have to do it for other human beings.”
Anderson was afraid to come out about either incident during his playing days; he worried people would judge him or look at him differently.
“I just threw it in the closet because I became somebody,” he said. “It was damaging the way I carried myself in life.”
Anderson also discussed his upbringing – he led Archbishop Molloy to a city championship as a freshman in 1985 and was named MVP – and what it was like playing for longtime Molloy coach Jack Curran, who died in March at the age of 82.
“From that day on,” Anderson said of winning the city championship, “my life changed. (Curran) taught me how to be a leader at a young age. He kind of taught me how to be the point guard. And he didn’t do it by telling me. He was an example. He was dedicated to his team, (and) he was dedicated to Molloy.
Anderson, who last played in the NBA for the Clippers in 2005, also opened up about his DUI, which cost him his head-coaching position at David Posnack Jewish Day School in Davie, Fl. Anderson was let go in May.
“I got a little emotional (talking about this) because I let them down,” Anderson said through tears. “You cannot drink and drive. I don’t condone it. And I lost my job, but I let my team down.
“I talked to (the players), and it bothered me. It was a blessing in disguise, and I learned from it. That hurt me. It wasn’t about wins and losses. It was about those guys doing something good, and I let them down, and every time I talk about it, I get shook up. I stay in touch with them through social media, and I’m not afraid to talk about it. You just can’t do those type of things. I’m really bothered by it.”
Asked what role basketball will play for him in the future, Anderson wasn’t sure, saying he only wants to be a good citizen.
“Basketball was easy,” he said. “Life is hard.”
