Dick Vitale woke up Tuesday morning saddened by the recent death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died on Sunday of a possible drug overdose. So the ESPN college basketball broadcaster took to social media in the hopes of helping anyone afflicted with a substance abuse problem. Posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, he implored people to seek help.
Vitale, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, posted a photo after breakfast outside the restaurant First Watch in Bradenton, Fla., holding up the front page of The Post, and wrote: “Philip Seymour Hoffman RIP Please I BEG YOU if you have a problem PLEASE GET HELP NOW! YOU can’t WIN playing that game – It will eat u UP!”
“I do a lot of motivational speaking, talk to groups about making [the right] decisions,” he said in a phone interview as he prepared to call Tuesday night’s Florida-Missouri SEC matchup. “I share with young people: ‘Life is simple if you make good decisions.’ You make good decisions, a lot of beautiful things happen. Make bad decisions, a lot of bad things happen.
“I hope and pray, seeing what happened in this scenario – may he rest in peace – maybe other people who have a problem look in mirror and say it’s time to get help.”
Vitale said he has never lost anyone close to him because of substance abuse, but he often stresses the importance of living without drugs and alcohol when he speaks to at functions through the V Foundation, which raises money for cancer research. The response he gets is overwhelmingly positive.
“I was hoping maybe I can reach somebody,” Vitale said. “You can’t save his life, but maybe we can save other people’s lives. It’s a vicious disease. It destroys not only the person, but their loved ones, their family members. Only way to beat the disease is don’t start.”