STRAWBERRY'S WIFE HEADS ADVOCACY GROUP

TAMPA, Fla., April 10 — With her husband, Darryl Strawberry, facing the
possibility of prison time on drug-related charges, Charisse Strawberry
announced today that she would head a group to press for treatment rather
than incarceration of addicts and help others with drug and alcohol dependency.

Charisse Strawberry, who was named president of the new Tampa affiliate of
the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence today, said she was
shocked when her husband disappeared March 29 from a Tampa treatment
center, during what he has said was a drug binge.

"It has been extremely painful for myself and my children," she said at a
news conference, but she emphasized that she would continue to support her
husband in hopes that his drug treatment would ultimately succeed.

"Darryl is doing O.K. with the situation at hand; it's a day-by-day
process," she said.

Darryl Strawberry, 39, a former power hitter for the Yankees and Mets,
recently had a full-body CT scan to check for cancer, for which he is also
being treated, and doctors found no evidence that it had returned, she
said. "The cancer, as far as I know, is in remission," she said.

A hearing in Darryl Strawberry's court case is scheduled for Wednesday, but
only procedural matters, not a decision on his sentencing, will be
discussed, said Pamela Bondi, an assistant state attorney. He faces up to
five years in prison after violating his probation stemming from a 1999
arrest for possession of drugs and solicitation of a prostitute.

Charisse Strawberry contends that addicts who have not committed serious
crimes, like murder or battery, should be confined to treatment centers
rather than jailed because addiction is a disease. "It's not a moral issue;
people all over the world are suffering from this disease," she said.

She said addicts should not have to suffer stigma, shame and guilt. "I know
Darryl doesn't want to be the way he is," she said.

Through her work with the council, Charisse Strawberry said she would try
to emphasize prevention through drug education programs in schools, family
forums and openly discussing the devastating effects of drug and alcohol abuse.

"By helping other people, you help yourself," Charisse Strawberry said.
"Childhood prevention is my big thing; I don't want to see other kids go
through what Darryl has had to go through."

Charisse and Darryl Strawberry have been married for seven and a half
years; they have three children. She has been a spokeswoman for the council
for three years and had been involved in planning the new council affiliate
for months. There are about 100 affiliates nationwide.

Darryl Strawberry remains in seclusion at St. Joseph's Hospital, where he
was admitted April 2 following his surrender to authorities after he
disappeared for four days from his treatment center. In September, he was
sentenced to two years of house arrest after crashing his car while driving
under the influence of sleeping pills and for violating his probation.

Strawberry has been treated numerous times for alcohol and drug problems
over more than a decade. In 1998, he learned he had colon cancer and has
had chemotherapy.

Ron Dock, a Yankees counselor on drug issues who was one of the people who
found Strawberry after his disappearance this month, has visited Strawberry
in the hospital and said his frame of mind had not improved.

"He's getting worse," Dock said recently. "He is psychologically crashing.
He can't even get out of the bed. He has no emotion. He looks defeated."