TRYING TO KEEP STUDENT-ATHLETES ON THE RIGHT PATH

Area Attorney, Sports Expert Offer Advice for Youngsters

Last year, high school athletes from Cheektowaga, Clarence, Elba,
Evans, Grand Island and other communities were suspended from their
teams after underage drinking incidents.

Allegations of unruly behavior by soccer players -- which the players
denied -- led the Lackawanna School Board to cancel its team's entire
season.

Five Niagara University basketball players were arrested in 2006 after
a confrontation with a baseball player outside a Niagara Falls bar.

Amherst attorney Michael S. Taheri looks at all these incidents,
shakes his head, and offers a simple piece of advice for
student-athletes everywhere.

"In any given situation," Taheri said, "I tell them to ask themselves,
'Would my mother be proud of me if she saw what I am doing at this
moment?' If you look at your actions from that perspective, it can
keep you out of a lot of trouble."

While no local statistics are available, scholastic sports expert Dick
Gallagher believes the problem of student-athletes with legal troubles
is serious and growing. For 25 years, Gallagher has published Western
New York High School Sports magazine. He is also executive director of
the Alcohol & Drug Dependency Services agency.

"Every year, I see more and more of them getting into trouble,"
Gallagher said. "Every year, I see situations where outstanding
student- athletes who have the potential to be scholarship players, or
even potential pros, throw it all away for drugs or alcohol."

Taheri said that is exactly the type of situation he hopes to prevent,
both at the high school and college levels.

A criminal defense attorney for 21 years, Taheri has handled many
cases involving student-athletes, ranging from drug possession and
driving while intoxicated arrests to allegations of sexual assault.
With his legal assistant, James F. Orr, Taheri recently published a
handbook called the Student- Athlete's Guide to the Criminal Justice
System.

The book's release led Taheri to a number of speaking engagements
before parents, educators and athletes at local high schools and colleges.

"I try to explain to them that the things they do in their high school
years can have serious ramifications for them years down the road,"
Taheri said. "When they apply for sports scholarships, many colleges
ask them right up front, 'Have you ever been convicted of a crime?'

"When they hit the job market, a lot of employers ask the same
question. A DWI or drug conviction at age 17 can hurt you down the
road."

Taheri believes the advice in his book would be helpful to any high
school or college student, but over the years, he has found that
student-athletes are especially susceptible to situations that can get
them into trouble.

He said the vast majority of student- athletes he has represented over
the years were "good kids who made bad decisions."

Student-athletes, especially the most accomplished ones, are highly
visible in their schools, often popular and often faced with many
temptations, including opportunities to attend parties where drugs and
alcohol are available, Taheri said.

Top student-athletes are sometimes coddled and often put on a pedestal
by American society, Taheri said. But society also subjects the young
athletes to extreme pressures -- including the pressure to succeed, and
peer pressures that lead some into illegal conduct.

"The Number One problem for student- athletes I have represented has
been alcohol," Taheri said. "Kids start drinking, the inhibitions come
down, and people start doing very foolish things, without thinking
about the fallout for their future."

Gallagher estimates that 75 percent of school districts in Western New
York now require participants in sports programs to sign a contract,
agreeing to stay away from drugs, alcohol and other illegal activities.

"Some schools kick the player off the team immediately for drug or
alcohol violations," Gallagher said. "Other schools will refer the
player to a counseling program and work with the player on his
problem, which I believe is a better approach."

The concerns covered in Taheri's book and his speeches include alcohol
and drug offenses, driving offenses, illegal sexual relationships,
Internet crimes, hazing and bullying offenses, criminal mischief and
assault.

He cited a number of issues that student-athletes need to give serious
consideration:

. A DWI arrest can cost an offender and his parents anywhere from
$8,960 to nearly $12,000. That's the combined estimated cost of fines
imposed by a judge, alcohol evaluation and counseling, various state
fees, increased insurance costs and legal fees.

. Obtaining alcohol for anyone younger than 21 can result in criminal
prosecutions for providing alcohol to a minor, endangering the welfare
of a minor, or other crimes.

. Sharing marijuana or another drug with friends is viewed as a "sale"
of drugs under New York State law.

. Even consensual sexual conduct with an individual under age 17 can
result in a criminal prosecution.

"It's extremely rare, but a person who is also under 17 could be
prosecuted," Taheri said. "An athlete who is 17 years or older, having
sex with a 16- year-old, could potentially be prosecuted, even if the
girl misrepresents her age."

. A young student who sends nude images of a minor over the Internet
could be prosecuted under tough federal child prosecution laws.

. Harmful hazing activities -- such as forcing a young teammate to
drink large amounts of alcohol -- could constitute a misdemeanor crime
that is punishable by up to a year in prison.

Gallagher said the issues raised in Taheri's book are important for
all young people -- not just athletes -- to ponder with their parents.

"Kids think they are invincible, and they aren't," Gallagher said.
"The earlier you get young people thinking about the possible results
of their actions, the better it is."