Time and time again I see news stories of teenagers losing their lives in horrific car accidents after leaving underage-drinking parties at a friend’s house. Just today, I read about another young teen’s death after he left a party and drove his car into oncoming traffic –- he was only 16. One of the parents at the party had served him and his friends alcohol. The loss of yet another bright future makes me sad, but the fact that a parent would willingly permit teenage drinking by serving alcohol to underage kids just leaves me speechless.

Sadly enough, the article highlights a scary trend — one-third of teens said it was “easy to obtain alcohol” from their parents, according to a 2005 study conducted by the American Medical Association. That figure jumps to 40 percent when it comes to getting alcohol from a friend’s parent. One out of four teens said they had attended a party where minors were drinking in front of parents.

What do you think? Should this mother be held accountable for enabling teenage drinking and providing alcohol to her son’s friends? And what do you tell your own kids when they want to have a party?

• 	Posted by: Joe Keenan | 20 Comment(s)
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• 	Posted by: Joe Keenan | 0 Comment(s)
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Little Leaguers, high-school players, and hometown fans alike were disappointed to see yet another of their baseball heroes, Alex Rodriguez, added to the list of players who admitted to using performance enhancing substances. Parents and coaches who have used idolized players like Rodriguez as examples of those who get ahead by playing healthy have to be shaking their heads, wondering what news will break next.

On Saturday, Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez had tested positive for two anabolic steroids (testosterone and Primobolan) in 2003. In an interview with ESPN, A-Rod admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-2003. Here’s what Rodriguez said:

“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, felt all the weight of the world on top of me to perform and perform at a high level every day. Back then, it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naive and I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth, you know, being one of the greatest players of all time. And I did take a banned substance. For that, I’m very sorry and deeply regretful. And although it was the culture back then in major league baseball overall … it was very … I just feel that … I’m just sorry. I’m sorry for that time, I’m sorry to my fans, I’m sorry to my fans in Texas. It wasn’t until then that I thought about substance of any kind, and since then I’ve proved to myself and to everyone that I don’t need any of that.”

As parents and caregivers, what do you think of his statement?

P.S. Want to learn more about performance enhancing substances so you can be informed when you to talk to your teen? The Partnership recently launched a website to provide parents and teens information on the heath risks from steroids, stimulants and HGH.

• 	Posted by: Joe Keenan | 3 Comment(s)
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Following on the heels of the triple play I wrote about last week, we have two more collisions in the worlds of sports and drugs.   First former NFL star Jamal Anderson was arrested on felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor marijuana possession.  This story has additional legs in the sense that although retired from playing, Anderson had recently been gaining stature as an ESPN commentator.  (And, I’d like to add I think he’s really good at it and was hoping he would increase that stature.)

But this story was dwarfed by the revelation that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003.  This was later confirmed by Rodriguez who said in an interview that he had used performance enhancing drugs from 2001-2003.  The stature of this story raised even more when it was President Obama discussed his disappointment with the news during his first Presidential press conference.

We have talked at length about the dangers and problem of performance-enhancing drugs in sports and I will gladly revisit that, but I have a different problem I’d like to discuss.  The steroid test that Rodriguez failed was part of a sampling that led to the creation of MLB’s drug testing policy.  It was taken under the strict guideline that it remain private.  MLB was specifically trying to find information and not penalize anyone.  Additionally Rodriguez is only one (albeit a very notable one) out of 104 players who tested positive.  Yet, he is the only one who’s name has been made public.

Look only at my profile picture (taken at my beloved Fenway Park alongside the Green Monster) and you can guess that I typically am not an A-Rod fan.  And, considering my long standing love of baseball, I am incredibly disappointed at the news.  But the truth is, I think this is so detrimental to solving drug problems.  We need safe havens of information.  Someone who is using drugs - whether it be a billion dollar athlete or a teenage son or daughter - needs to be able to expect a level of confidentiality.

The drug screening that A-Rod failed served its purpose.  It helped identify the size of a problem and in turn led to MLB’s drug testing policy.  That’s what it was intended to do.  Why on earth would the player’s union ever consent to a similar agreement in the future when the promise of confidentiality is so easily broken?  Likewise, how can we expect our children to reach out for help if they think that in doing so their honesty will be used against them at a later date?

Yes, Alex Rodriguez lied when he told interviewers that he didn’t take drugs.  But we hold institutions up to a higher threshold of integrity.  Interestingly, I think A-Rod will finally come across as human and although he may lose some endorsements, he might very well reform his reputation.  Will the same be said about the people who broke a trust and leaked his name?

• 	Posted by: James Ponti | 0 Comment(s)
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Michael Phelps, Santonio Holmes and Bob Hayes: Three sports legends and one unprecedented weekend.

For those who don’t regularly follow sports, Phelps is an Olympic legend with 14 gold medals, Holmes is a football star with a Super Bowl ring and the Hayes was both - a multiple gold medal winner and one time “world’s fastest man” and also Super Bowl winning wide receiver from the Dallas Cowboys.

And, this past weekend, they gave us three very different perspectives of the intersection of sports and drugs.

On Saturday, Hayes was posthumously elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Whether Hayes would ever make the Hall has been an ongoing debate for nearly 30 years. He had what most considered a Hall-worthy career, but the taint of a 1979 drug arrest for delivering narcotics to an undercover police officer and the resulting 10-month prison stint had long been considered the reason he was not getting inducted. He finally made it, but didn’t live to see his long time dream realized.

In a story that developed over both Saturday and Sunday, Phelps acknowledged that a picture of him smoking marijuana at a University of South Carolina party was authentic. This has been followed by a series of spin-control, PR moves and apologies and has resulted in Kellogg’s not renewing his endorsement contract and a 3-month suspension from USA Swimming. It is much too early to know how this will impact his standing and legacy.

Then, on Sunday, Holmes who has admitting to dealing drugs when he was in elementary school and was arrested for marijuana possession earlier this year, had a breakout performance in the Super Bowl which ended with him scoring what is already considered one of the greatest touchdowns in football history and being named MVP of the game.

As a parent, these give us plenty of topics to discuss with our kids. We can talk about Phelps’s poor judgment and the contradictions of his supreme physical conditioning and his unhealthful behavior. We can talk about the way that the consequences of our actions follow us much longer than we might realize. We can talk about the brave decisions that Holmes made to change a dead end course into a productive life, but also how that battle still continues. But most of all, we can share with our children the knowledge that brilliance in sports does not make a person a role model and that no one, no matter how wealthy or famous, is immune to the negative impacts of drugs.

• 	Posted by: James Ponti | 3 Comment(s)
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Oops, he did it again. News reports of Olympic swimming phenom Michael Phelps’ latest embarrassing brush with drugs and alcohol last weekend almost outpaced news of our troubled economy and that other big sports event that takes place every February.

Following the 2004 Olympics, Phelps was caught drunk driving, and promised his fans it would never happen again. Just four years later, Phelps was photographed taking a bong hit at what was reported to be a party at a university Phelps was visiting. (View the photo here.) The US Olympic Committee said, “Michael is a role model, and he is well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people…in this instance, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities.”

Many of us know by now that the brain doesn’t fully develop the ability to make good judgments until age 25 — Phelps is 23 — but I’m still surprised at seeing that this unfortunate decision was made so publicly. Reports that Phelps has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder also pique my concern — some research studies have shown a greater risk of drug abuse among kids with this diagnosis. It’s not my place to be a parent to Phelps, but it’s definitely my place to talk to my kids about this situation.

Have you talked to your kids? What did they say — and what did you tell them?

• 	Posted by: Joe Keenan | 6 Comment(s)
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A new service from Google may help parents monitor their kids.

“With an upgrade to its mobile maps, Google Inc. hopes to prove it can track people on the go as effectively as it searches for information on the Internet.The new software to be released Wednesday will enable people with mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends.
The feature, dubbed ‘Latitude,’ expands upon a tool introduced in 2007 to allow mobile phone users to check their own location on a Google map with the press of a button. ‘This adds a social flavor to Google maps and makes it more fun,’ said Steve Lee, a Google product manager.”

More from Yahoo Tech.

• 	Posted by: Joe Keenan | 0 Comment(s)
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