Don Hooten, I think he's in the senate hearings over the steroid and baseball issue. Look at this article. His son was a pitcher for a baseball team and was "addicted" to steroids. He committed suicide after being depressed for awhile. HIS PARENTS SAY IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE STEROIDS!
Taylor Hooten's parents campaign to end steroid abuse
BY NINA BURCH, STAFF WRITER 03/06/2004
BY NINA BURCH
STAFF WRITER
Don and Gwen Hooten know all too well the pain of having to bury a child.
Last summer they interred their 17-year-old son, Taylor, a Plano West senior, after he committed suicide in their home.
The Hootens believe their son's suicide was the direct result of severe depression resulting from his abuse of anabolic steroids.
"60 Minutes II," the television news program, aired the story of Taylor Hooten and his bout with steroids and depression March 3.
In an interview with CBS reporter Jim Stewart, Don Hooten, holding back tears, expressed his desire to use Taylor's death to prevent another steroid-induced suicide.
"He's gone and it is devastating," Don Hooten told Stewart. "We'll never get over it, and the only way I know to deal with it is to intellectually try to deal with it as to what happened.
"Then once we've learned it, is to ring the warning bell so that no one else has to go through what we've gone through," he said.
The desire to prevent another family from having to experience the pain of losing a child in such a senseless manner is what motivated Don Hooten and his family to educate parents, coaches, friends and anyone else they can find about the dangers of abusing steroids.
"As we have learned through our tragedy, many people are ignorant about the dangers of this drug, including many athletic officials and even some in our medical community," Don Hooten said.
The family is forming a non-profit organization called the Taylor Hooten Foundation for Fighting Steroid Abuse and setting up a Web site on the dangers of steroids.
During the television interview, Don Hooten said he would take the primary blame for what happened to his son. But he really feels that more than one person was responsible for his son's death.
He said that he also believes the Plano West coaching staff was partially at fault.
"Coaches love to abdicate responsibility by saying it's a general society problem but it's also a coach's problem," he said. "The coach is number one in making decisions on who makes the team, who doesn't, and rewarding behavior. Coaches are in the position of rewarding guys for the exact results that steroids cause."
Taylor Hooten was a junior playing on the junior varsity team. A Plano West baseball coach told him that in order to play varsity, he would have to get bigger.
It was then his parents think he started using steroids.
After six to eight months of steroid use by their son, Don and Gwen started noticing changes in his behavior. Convinced something was wrong, they sought psychiatric help for him.
Upon the urging of his psychiatrist, Taylor Hooten told his parents of his addiction.
Shortly after, on the morning of July 15, 2003, Gwen Hooten found her son dead. He had hanged himself.
"Coaches need to be trained to recognize the symptoms of steroid use but most importantly take responsibility for a zero tolerance policy." said Don Hooten.
He does not think any coach instructed his son to use steroids. In fact, the Plano West baseball team's Web site has a list of conditioning drills and recommendation players are expected to follow.
But Don still feels that more could be done to educate young athletes of the dangers of steroids.
"I haven't seen an interest in taking responsibility for this problem and taking active steps to solve it," he told Stewart.
When asked by Stewart if he thought coaches bear any particular responsibility in keeping kids off steroids, Larry Guinn, a PISD official, said they do.
"No, I think they do have a special role," he said. "I think it is important for them and I think our coaches and athletic director make sure they do, to know that we need to send a message that steroids are inappropriate."
Don Hooten says now, with accusations that top national league baseball players have used performance enhancing steroids, the need to educate high school kids on the dangers of steroids is greater than ever.
"They are setting a terrible example," he said. "Kids like Taylor grow up to think: that's what it takes to get ahead in major league baseball."
Don and Gwen Hooten think the best way to prevent the untimely death of another young person is through education since most don't realize the danger they expose themselves to with steroids.
"One of the most difficult challenges we face is to get the public to understand there are many serious negative consequences of steroid use, that most are longer term in nature, and that they may not show up as immediately and as directly as they did with Taylor," he said.
Taylor Hooten's parents campaign to end steroid abuse
BY NINA BURCH, STAFF WRITER 03/06/2004
BY NINA BURCH
STAFF WRITER
Don and Gwen Hooten know all too well the pain of having to bury a child.
Last summer they interred their 17-year-old son, Taylor, a Plano West senior, after he committed suicide in their home.
The Hootens believe their son's suicide was the direct result of severe depression resulting from his abuse of anabolic steroids.
"60 Minutes II," the television news program, aired the story of Taylor Hooten and his bout with steroids and depression March 3.
In an interview with CBS reporter Jim Stewart, Don Hooten, holding back tears, expressed his desire to use Taylor's death to prevent another steroid-induced suicide.
"He's gone and it is devastating," Don Hooten told Stewart. "We'll never get over it, and the only way I know to deal with it is to intellectually try to deal with it as to what happened.
"Then once we've learned it, is to ring the warning bell so that no one else has to go through what we've gone through," he said.
The desire to prevent another family from having to experience the pain of losing a child in such a senseless manner is what motivated Don Hooten and his family to educate parents, coaches, friends and anyone else they can find about the dangers of abusing steroids.
"As we have learned through our tragedy, many people are ignorant about the dangers of this drug, including many athletic officials and even some in our medical community," Don Hooten said.
The family is forming a non-profit organization called the Taylor Hooten Foundation for Fighting Steroid Abuse and setting up a Web site on the dangers of steroids.
During the television interview, Don Hooten said he would take the primary blame for what happened to his son. But he really feels that more than one person was responsible for his son's death.
He said that he also believes the Plano West coaching staff was partially at fault.
"Coaches love to abdicate responsibility by saying it's a general society problem but it's also a coach's problem," he said. "The coach is number one in making decisions on who makes the team, who doesn't, and rewarding behavior. Coaches are in the position of rewarding guys for the exact results that steroids cause."
Taylor Hooten was a junior playing on the junior varsity team. A Plano West baseball coach told him that in order to play varsity, he would have to get bigger.
It was then his parents think he started using steroids.
After six to eight months of steroid use by their son, Don and Gwen started noticing changes in his behavior. Convinced something was wrong, they sought psychiatric help for him.
Upon the urging of his psychiatrist, Taylor Hooten told his parents of his addiction.
Shortly after, on the morning of July 15, 2003, Gwen Hooten found her son dead. He had hanged himself.
"Coaches need to be trained to recognize the symptoms of steroid use but most importantly take responsibility for a zero tolerance policy." said Don Hooten.
He does not think any coach instructed his son to use steroids. In fact, the Plano West baseball team's Web site has a list of conditioning drills and recommendation players are expected to follow.
But Don still feels that more could be done to educate young athletes of the dangers of steroids.
"I haven't seen an interest in taking responsibility for this problem and taking active steps to solve it," he told Stewart.
When asked by Stewart if he thought coaches bear any particular responsibility in keeping kids off steroids, Larry Guinn, a PISD official, said they do.
"No, I think they do have a special role," he said. "I think it is important for them and I think our coaches and athletic director make sure they do, to know that we need to send a message that steroids are inappropriate."
Don Hooten says now, with accusations that top national league baseball players have used performance enhancing steroids, the need to educate high school kids on the dangers of steroids is greater than ever.
"They are setting a terrible example," he said. "Kids like Taylor grow up to think: that's what it takes to get ahead in major league baseball."
Don and Gwen Hooten think the best way to prevent the untimely death of another young person is through education since most don't realize the danger they expose themselves to with steroids.
"One of the most difficult challenges we face is to get the public to understand there are many serious negative consequences of steroid use, that most are longer term in nature, and that they may not show up as immediately and as directly as they did with Taylor," he said.