Died from cocaine use, leading to stronger anti-drug attitudes.

• A. Len Bias
• B. Tommie Smith
• C. Avery Brundage
• D. Gidget

Answer: (A)

This question tests how a high-profile event can shift attitudes and policy in sports around drug use. Len Bias was a standout college basketball star who became the number-one NBA draft pick in 1986. He died two days after being drafted due to cocaine intoxication. That sudden, highly publicized death shocked fans and leagues, and it sparked a much stronger anti-drug stance across basketball and college sports. It helped propel the expansion of drug education, testing, and enforcement programs designed to deter drug use among athletes.

Tommie Smith is famous for a 1968 Olympic protest; Avery Brundage was an IOC president with a long history on amateurism and governance, and Gidget is a fictional character. None of these are tied to a death from cocaine or to triggering broader anti-drug attitudes in sports in the way Bias’s case did.