Documentary Charts Ups And Downs Of Former Farragut Phenom
(CBS) – Ronnie Fields was a high-flying, electrifying highlight machine when he starred at Farragut Academy in the mid-'90s.
Unfortunately, the image of him wearing a protective halo also comes to mind when his name is mentioned.
Fields suffered a broken neck in a car accident in February 1996.
That, along with sexual abuse charges, turned the "can't-miss-kid" into a cautionary tale. Now, 17 years later, Fields is sharing his story in a documentary entitled "Bounce Back."
"It's just not a basketball story," Fields tells CBS 2's Ryan Baker. "It's a story for everyone in terms of going through different things in life to believe OK, you can still benefit and make it in life, just focusing and trying to do the right thing and stay away from trouble, or just learn from having the right people in your corner."
The high school All-American never made it to the NBA, but he did play professionally around the world for 16 years. All the while, Fields watched from afar as his former Farragut teammate Kevin Garnett made millions in the NBA.
Fields has no regrets.
"Nobody is immune from mistakes and being in tough situations. People that come and watch this documentary (might think) it couldn't get no worse than being the best player in country and going through the things that happened," he says. "Most people will be like, 'Wow! How did you get out of that?' But to see that gives a lot of other people hope that I can still be able manage to do things in my life as well through the mistakes I've made."
