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Father, son say supplement is legal
TweetNational Collegiate Athletic Association has not banned creatine, according a YSU coach.
STRUTHERS — A 15-year-old Struthers High School football player appealed his suspension from school for using a muscle-building supplement containing creatine.
The hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. today at the board of education office.
Lennard Burke Jr. was suspended for 10 days, beginning Feb. 4, and could face expulsion from school for using a supplement that his father, Lennard Sr., a law enforcement officer, said is akin to taking vitamins.
“I would never let my kid bring something to the school that was illegal or banned. I bought it for him. We’re just challenging. It’s not a medication,” said Burke Sr.
Burke Jr., who is also a member of the school’s show choir, said creatine is not like steroids and is not a drug or over-the-counter medicine. It can be purchased in health food stores and is not prohibited by the school student handbook, he said.
The handbook delineates the rules that students must follow.
Schools Superintendent Robert Rostan said he would not discuss the case of a specific student. But, he did say there is a sign in the school weight training room listing banned substances, which includes creatine.
However, both Burke Jr. and Burke Sr. say they were told the sign in the weight room was not put up until the day after Burke Jr. was suspended.
According to the Web site, MedicineNet.com., “creatinine is a chemical waste molecule that is generated from muscle metabolism. Creatinine is produced from creatine, a molecule of major importance for energy production in muscles.”
The MuscleTech Web site says Creakic Hardcore, the pill that Burke Jr. had in his possession, is “designed to ... create the perfect environment for maximum muscle creatine absorption, which means more muscle.”
John Patrick, strength and conditioning coach for the Youngstown State University football team, said the use of creatine is not banned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. However, he said, as a personal choice the YSU staff does not distribute creatine to its players. He said there are less expensive products that are as effective.
Burke Sr. said his wife, Gina, went to the high school to find out about their son’s suspension and ended up being yelled at by Joseph Fuline, associate high school principal.
While his wife was at the school, Burke Sr. said he talked on the telephone to Fuline and he (Fuline) yelled at him too.
“I asked what rule my son broke. I said it [creatine] was just like vitamins, and Mr. Fuline said: ‘I’m considering this stuff [creatine] just like cocaine.’”
Also, Burke Sr. said he and his wife instructed their son to not answer any questions and told the school not to question him. Instead, after their request, the high school principal questioned Burke Jr.
As a result, Burke Sr. said he and his wife have filed complaints against Fuline and high school principal Mary Ann Meadows, which were to be presented at today’s hearing and then forwarded to the Ohio Department of Education.
Fuline declined to comment on the matter, and Meadows was out of the office and not available for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Burke Sr. said his son, who received a 10-day suspension at the beginning of the school year, “knows the rules of the school, so he wouldn’t do anything to get another suspension He knows he has a target on his back.”
“All he had was a food supplement. It’s stuff I approved for him to take before and after workouts. It’s not a medication. It’s just like the vitamins I take to stay healthy,” Burke Sr. said.
“My son is sad and depressed. He’s not a bad kid. We have discipline in our home. I just feel terrible for him,” Burke Sr. said.
alcorn@vindy.com
Comments
For God's sake, there's creatine in energy drinks! Are they banning kids from bringing those in their lunches, too?
Struthers is so ridiculous. And Joe Fuline makes me laugh. Creatine is like cocaine? Unlike creatine, COCAINE ISN'T PRODUCED BY YOUR BODY. Like I said in the initial post of this story -- they need to worry about the kids that are bringing REAL drugs to school. You know -- the REAL cocaine.
This sounds to me like the school went overboard on this one. They based the suspension on the Principles feelings and not facts.
The really sad thing is that Joseph Fuline spends all day in school, has for years, and this is all the intelligence he has. I know they have computers and internet available, we paid for them. If only he could spell creatine, he would be capable of l e a r n i n g. Then he wouldn't have to wear the dunce cap. If he has really treated taxpaying parents so poorly, he's a disgrace and should be given the boot.
OOPS. Creatinine if the product name. Sorry Mr. Fuline, I have to take a turn in the dunce cap too.
Why did the kid get 10 days out earlier in the school year?
Why has no one mentioned that this student has been caught with pot before, on school grounds. If I was in law enforcement, I would be embrarrssed that my child was busted with pot on school grounds..and now with another banned substance....shouldn't we be looking at who we hire as law enforcement agents. I mean if they can't even raise thier own family, then who can depend on.
Str, while I agree about the marijuana... supposedly this substance wasn't banned until after the kid was suspended.
Whether it was banned before or after -- it shouldn't have been banned at all. Beging busted for pot is more than a legitimate reason to be suspended. Using a vitamin supplement that your body creates? No, that's just ridiculous.
Are the gonna crack down on the kids that have to use calcium supplements, too? Come on.
It's school policy to suspend no matter what the pill is. The student would have still been suspended whether it was tylenol, creatine or a multi-vitamin. This is POOR information gathering from the reporter.
Argue against this policy, but don't argue the point that it was creatine.
Hope the kid wins this.
RyKane, if the policy is zero tollerance for ANY medication/drug then it should stand. If, however there is more leniency for over the counter medications then this kid should be given a pass-previous suspension or not.
Wonder if Mr. Fuline looks at Insulin as cocaine as well? That's produced by the body just like Creatinine. Of coarse so is HGH.........
The fact that he was caught with marijuana in the beginning of the year is irrelevant to this incident. If there is a zero tolerance policy for ALL medications,supplements and the like, why the list of banned substances? Now onto the fact that the father is in law enforcement.... he was a cop before his child was even born... should they have used a crystal ball to decide whether or not to hire him? He is a good parent, a good cop and an honest man. You can discipline your children, teach them right from wrong and they will still make mistakes. It would be an interesting world if we lost our jobs because are children's behavior could be cause for dismissal.
For the record, the suspension was reversed and he is not going to be expelled.
This is a stupid story. I wonder how many kids in Struthers are doing real drugs? Probably lots. Maybe they could focus on that instead of making themselves look like morons in the newspaper. Creatinine is as harmless is it gets.
strhun, you sound completly ridiciolus!
RyKane, you obviously haven't read the student handbook.
The handbook bans drugs, medications, and over the counter medications....nothing listed for supplements!!
The sign banning creatine that is now in the weight room was not there before this kid was suspended either.
Well.
Like I said before -- better get those kids to stop drinking those energy drinks, too. All kinds of supplements in those...
Well if his body had an adverse reaction to the pill and the kid died on school grounds, I'm sure the parents would be yelling that the school didn't do enought to get all substances out of the building. There are reason for rules and just because you yell and scream enough doesn't mean that policy should be changed. When I was in school it was common knowledge that the only pills you were allowed were prescribed and the only person who could administer the drug was the school nurse. We actually had a girl try to commit suicide in the bathroom by taking a huge amount of Advil. She had to be taken away by ambulance after another girl found her.
The fact is that anything in large amount can kill you even water or milk so why not bad those too? You see that argument can be muted once you realize that everything in a alrge enough amout can be lethal thereofre the school is still wrong.