The 19-year-old son of basketball hall-of-famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving, a young man with a history of drug abuse, is missing, officials said Tuesday as the family appealed for help.
Cory Marvin Erving was last seen by his family on May 28, his father said at a news conference in Sanford, Fla. A $25,000 reward was posted for his return.
“This bad dream has gone on for 16 days now … 16 bad days,” Julius Erving said. “We are in dire need of help.”
He said his son had a learning disability, “a mild form of dyslexia,” and had been in special classes.
He was working at a sandwich shop and taking courses geared at getting a high school equivalency diploma. He also said his son has a history of drug abuse starting when he was 14.
“We have to tease him about all the diplomas he’s garnered from drug and rehab centers. … He has about five or six of them,” the father said in a subdued voice.
But he also said the family has always been close.
“For Cory to be out of the circle brings about great concern,” Erving said. The news conference was also attended by his wife, Turquoise, and their three other children.
He said Cory was last seen at a shopping mall and may have had a confrontation with someone before he disappeared.
In July 1998, Cory and his older brother, Cheo, were charged with possessing a crack pipe and burglarizing a car in nearby Altamonte Springs.
The elder Erving, a basketball Hall of Famer, was named executive vice president of the Orlando Magic in 1997.
Last year, Erving acknowledged that he was the father of tennis player Alexandra Stevenson, whose mother, sports writer Samantha Stevenson, had raised her as a single parent.
