CSI Pullman

By Mark Buckets


In a story that has flown under the radar - which is sad in it of itself - former Washington State basketball player Tony Harris's body was found badly mangled in a central Brazilian army base. For those of you who didn't follow Washington State basketball in the early to mid 1990's (and who really did?) Tony Harris was one of those typical early 90's freakish wing players who did a little bit of everything (think the Flyin' Illini a few years before). Those facts are merely footnotes in this bizarre and heartbreaking story. This story is so unusual, so perplexing, that Drive and Dish deems it deserving of further attention . While this is certainly not breaking news, it is a story that has human ramifications beyond time. The Seattle-Post Intelligencer picks up the story in full: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004026635_harris21m.html .

At the time of his disappearance, his wife was seven months pregnant with their first child and he had signed (in another questionable part of this story) with a Brazilian basketball team to earn and save money for the birth of their child. He had lost a temporary job as a child counselor prior to his disappearance.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer also quotes :"Lori Harris said her husband sounded anxious in his phone calls early this month and told her there were rumors being spread about him that could put him at risk." Some might construe this story into the popular pick-up line that reads: Basketball player cheats on wife and rumors start to fly.

One must also understand that Tony Harris was dealing with serious mental health issues at the time of his disappearance. Family members and teammates said that Harris was acting strangely leading up to this tragedy. These inner demons were unleashed, sadly, in the worst way possible: suicide. Although homicide has not been ruled out in this case, one has to wonder whether or not Harris' life could have been saved by way of an intervention and, ultimately, counseling.

The Brazilian basketball team, Universo BRB, which had signed him a few weeks before, had expected Harris to suit up three days before he went missing. It must also be noted that Harris attempted to leave the country, but was eventually denied - by BRB - because they owned custody of his passport. It couldn't have been too much to ask for a person - or persons - of the team hierarchy to sense his problems, release him of his contract, and go on with it? Sure, these lower-level third-world country basketball teams aren't raking in the cash - Harris was 37 and hadn't played basketball in a couple of years- and as a result, give a little less slack to guys who want out. This should have been the exception to the rule, and consequently, a life was lost. I'm shocked and saddened by this story ... a tragedy which could easily have been avoided.