Skip to main content

A high school athlete gets punished for being responsible

From using illegal substances to domestic violence to driving under the influence and beyond, it seems that not a week goes by where I don't hear about or read a story regarding an athlete getting into trouble. Just last night, I read such a story, but this was a much different story - one which greatly bothered me.

Apparently, North Andover (Massachusetts) High School senior volleyball player Erin Cox has just recently been suspended five games and stripped of her captaincy for picking up a friend of her's who was too drunk and taking her home.

When Ms. Cox went to pick up her friend, the police were already on the scene, arresting several people for underage possession of alcohol. Boxford police officer Brian Neeley vouched for Ms. Cox's sobriety, but even that wasn't enough to reverse the school's decision.

Erin's mother - Eleanor Cox - said the following on WBZ-TV in Boston: "She did what she thought was right, and I'm very proud of her."

Attorney Geoffrey Bok, who has been representing the school in court over the matter, responded to the situation by saying this to the Boston Herald: "The school is trying to take a very serious and principled stand regarding alcohol. And we all get that. Teen drinking is a serious problem."

 I find Mr. Bok's quote to be laughable. If the school really wants to take a principled stand on teenage drinking, it shouldn't punish Erin Cox for acting like a responsible adult by picking up a drunk friend and making certain her friend didn't place her own life or others' lives in jeopardy by driving under the influence of alcohol. With the school's ridiculous actions, they only place more of their students at risk of harming or killing themselves or others through drunken driving, because now it's implanted in the students' minds that if you are a friend's designated driver, you will be punished. Erin Cox should be commended, not punished, for what she did. If anyone should be punished in this scenario, it should be the leaders at the school.

http://espn.go.com/boston/story/_/id/9826842/high-school-athlete-massachusetts-suspended-driving-drunk-friend

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Boycotting jukeboxes because of TouchTunes

I love music and enjoy hitting the bar(s) over the weekend, so naturally, when the mood strikes me, I've never been coy about playing some songs on the jukebox. This past Thursday, a friend of mine turned 50, so several friends of her's, including myself, all met up to celebrate the occasion. At around 9:30, a friend of mine and I both chipped in $5 to play some songs on the jukebox. Four hours and 231 skips later, we gave up on hearing the songs we had selected, and went home knowing we had just wasted $5. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened to me (and many others), and due to that, I'll be boycotting jukeboxes. Why? The scam known as TouchTunes. You see, here's how the plot typically breaks down. A person (or group of people) downloads the TouchTunes app on his/her phone, consumes one too many adult beverages, and due to this, has less care for spending extra money to hear the songs of their choosing right NOW. That's the thing with TouchTun

The difference between "looking" and "checking out"

I may be way off with these numbers, but it's my approximation that at least 75% of individuals whom are involved in a serious relationship feel it's perfectly acceptable to "check out" members of the opposite sex they're not involved with. Meanwhile, approximately 25% either don't feel this is acceptable or aren't sure about the matter. I hadn't thought about this matter for a while, but since I've been dating a woman for about 8 months, the topic has been pondered about some. When reading or hearing others discuss this very issue, I often times hear comments similar to the following: "It's human nature to look." "There's nothing wrong with checking others out. I'm sure he/she does it too!" "It's fine to do it. Just don't tell your boyfriend/girlfriend about it or do it in front of them!" "It's natural to find people attractive." When observing the array of comments, I i

The verdict is in. To no one's surprise, Jonathan Hoenig has been found guilty of being an idiot.

Just recently, when discussing the Michael Brown shooting and whether or not race had anything to do with it, Fox News contributor Jonathan Hoenig said, "You know who talks about race? Racists." One moment while I provide Mr. Hoenig with the well deserved slow-clap. :: slow-claps for two seconds :: So, that was quite the line by Mr. Hoenig, wasn't it? "You know who talks about race? Racists." Well, wasn't he just talking about race? So, by his own words, I guess that makes him a racist. Also, if he wants to be consistent, does this mean that people whom talk about gender are sexists and people whom talk about sexual orientation are homophobes? With that line of thinking, Hoenig would engage in the following back-and-forths: Hoenig: "So, who are you voting for?" A woman: "The Democratic candidate, because he's been adamant about his support for equal rights for women." Hoenig: "You sexist feminist nazi!"