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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
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