McKinney, TX (August 5, 2013) – The Taylor Hooton Foundation, widely acknowledged as the leader in the advocacy against performance enhancing drug use by the youth of America, has issued the following statements regarding today’s suspension of Alex Rodriguez by Major League Baseball.
“It is with sadness and disappointment that we learned today that Alex Rodriguez has once again violated the rules of Major League Baseball by using illegal substances,” said Don Hooton, Taylor Hooton Foundation president.
“We have had a good relationship with Rodriguez since early 2009 when we stood with him at his press conference in Tampa. There, he issued his public mea culpa, committed that he would not be involved in the future with banned substances, and said that he wanted to help us to encourage kids to stay away from them. He offered to use his situation as an example to let them know that it is not right for them to use performance enhancing drugs. Working together, we’ve delivered messages to thousands of kids and have impacted their lives in a positive way. But, today’s announcement leaves us no option but to discontinue our relationship with Alex Rodriguez.”
“With respect to curbing use of steroids in the game,” he said, “today’s announcement makes it clear that Commissioner Selig and his leadership team are deadly serious about eradicating illegal anabolic steroid use from Major League Baseball,” added Don Hooton.
The foundation’s board of directors met earlier today and determined to terminate with all activities with Rodriguez.
Said Neil Romano, the board’s chairman: “It is simply not acceptable for the foundation to be delivering positive education messages to kids in partnership with an athlete who has continued to use performance enhancing drugs in violation of the rules of Major League Baseball and in direct opposition to the lessons that we teach children.”
The Taylor Hooton Foundation board of directors is deeply appreciative of Major League Baseball’s efforts in curbing the use of anabolic steroids and other appearance and performance enhancing drugs both on the field and in the community. MLB is the leading contributor to youth education on this topic nationally and consistently invests more in this area than any other entity including the Federal Government.
The Taylor Hooton Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to educating North America’s young people about the dangers of anabolic steroids and other appearance and performance enhancing drugs. The Foundation was formed in 2004 by the friends and family of Taylor Hooton after his untimely death following his use of anabolic steroids.
For more information about the Taylor Hooton Foundation and its efforts, please visit www.taylorhooton.org.
Contact:
Kyle Purdy, VP Corporate Development
972-403-7300