Higher priority

Mourning walks away from NBA rather than risk heart attack

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Alonzo Mourning's kidney disease caused his body chemistry to gone so "haywire" that the New Jersey Nets center was in danger of having a heart attack if he continued to play.

"There's a disappointment there because I still feel there's an emptiness in my career that just wasn't filled," Mourning said in an interview with John Thompson, his former Georgetown coach.

"It's unfortunate, but trust me, things could be a whole lot worse," Mourning said in the interview for TNT, which employs Thompson as an NBA analyst. "I want to live 50 more years. I'm 33 years old ... and I want to live to at least be 80 and see my kids grow up and see my grandkids. That's important to me."

Mourning on Monday walked away from basketball again, with the team announcing that the life-threatening kidney disease that has limited his play in two of the past three seasons had gotten worse since his return this season.

The 33-year-old center now needs a transplant -- soon.

A nationwide search is under way for a prospective donor.

Mourning wasn't at practice Monday, when the Nets made the announcement. He issued no statement.

Mourning said he was packing to leave for a West Coast trip when he got a telephone call from his doctor, Dr. Gerald Appel, telling him his "labs have gone haywire" and that he would have to stop playing.

"'No, doc, no.' I said, 'Why?'" said Mourning, who sat out last season because of the illness and then signed a four-year, $22 million contract with the Nets in July.

"He said, 'Well, your potassium has gotten to a level where if you play, then you put yourself into a position for heart palpitations and cardiac arrest,"' Mourning told Thompson.

Appel, a kidney specialist at Columbia University Medical Center, said Mourning's kidney function has deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks.

"I, in consultation with team physicians, have concluded that it is no longer medically safe for him to play basketball," Appel said.

The Kidney and Urology Foundation of America said more than 57,000 people are awaiting a kidney transplants. Seventeen people die every day while waiting to receive an organ, and 24 percent of those waiting for a kidney transplant die before they get one.

"The story of Alonzo Mourning's return to the NBA this year is one of success, not failure," Dr. Ira Greifer, the foundation president, said in a statement Monday. "We are encouraged by his own strength in battling kidney disease, and his determination to lead the life he desires."

Mourning's illness, called focal glomerulosclerosis, is a degenerative disease that is usually associated with diabetes or hardening of arteries within the kidneys.

The disease mainly affects adolescents, but also occurs in young and middle-aged adults. Treatment is not very effective, and most people develop end-stage kidney failure within five to 20 years of diagnosis.

Former San Antonio Spurs player Sean Elliott contracted the same ailment and underwent a kidney transplant in 1999. He returned briefly in 2001, then retired.

It was not immediately clear whether the Nets will have to pay Mourning the entire value of his contract. Nets president Rod Thorn refused to discuss Mourning's salary Monday.

During his four months with the Nets, Mourning epitomized a strong work ethic.

"For him to come out and almost kill himself to just play the game that he loves, it just shows the kind of person 'Zo is," Nets All Star point guard Jason Kidd said.

Mourning played just 12 games in this comeback, saving his best for last. He had a season-high 15 points in 16 minutes in an 81-80 loss to the Toronto Raptors Saturday at the Continental Airlines Arena.

However, he looked exhausted when he left the court for a breather with 6:56 to play in the fourth quarter.

Within 24 hours, Mourning's career took a significant turn.

The announcement came just four days after Mourning and teammate Kenyon Martin nearly came to blows when Martin teased Mourning about his kidney condition at practice Thursday.

Martin, who had refused to talk about the incident, spoke about it Monday, admitting he made a big mistake.

"In the heat of the moment, you say things you wished you hadn't, no matter if it's basketball, or at work," Martin said. "I apologized right afterward. It still doesn't take it back that I said it."

Mourning averaged 8.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 17.9 minutes for the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions, who have struggled this season, posting a 5-7 record. His career averages were 20.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game coming into this season.

He was in his 12th season in the NBA, having previously played for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. Mourning also was a member of the 2000 gold medal-winning Team USA Olympic squad.