40 for 34 #32 - June 13

Dave Ungrady
3 days ago
1 min read

Community Connection

Len Bias developed a strong connection to the College Park community.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/3c5ed1_6e40538793d64e168adf3604e70eac95/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Listen to the story.

John Brown opened RJ Bentley's restaurant on the main commercial strip along Route 1 in College Park, Maryland in 1978. Over the years, Brown developed comfortable friendships with top Maryland athletes. Maryland sports teams often gathered for team meals there.

Len Bias often stopped in for lunch at Bentley’s during his junior and senior years, and Brown eagerly welcomed the superstar into his restaurant. A couple of times, Bias volunteered to take part in charity events at Bentley’s. One teammate Keith Gatlin and Maryland football player Azizuddin Abdur-Ra’oof. The three were picked up by campus police, handcuffed and taken to the restaurant, where they were placed in a fake jail for a sorority benefit. Patrons made bids on the athletes to release them from their brief prison sentences.

Brown remembers Bias acting with class in his bar. “He was not a bar hanger, one of those guys who came in every night and was hitting on chicks,” says Brown. “He would stand around, have a beer or two with his friends. And then Len would say, ‘Alright, guys, we’ve got stuff to do, let’s go.’ ”