PARIS – Former National Football League player John Evans told Oxford Hills high school athletes Thursday night the deadly consequences of drug use.

About 450 student athletes, parents and coaches listened to the former Minnesota Vikings place kicker describe how he turned to alcohol to deal with the pressure of playing in the NFL.

Now he tries to help athletes stay away from drugs as a favor to college friend Lyle Alzado, former defensive lineman for the Oakland Raiders.

As a student, Evans said, “We couldn’t understand how he got so big so fast and how he could go from being your best friend one minute to hanging out a seventh story dorm window the next.”

Evans said he once saw Alzado pick up a car and push it over a cliff into the Missouri River. He later discovered that the mood swings, rages and Alzado’s increase in size from being a 195 pound freshman to a 325 pound senior were the result of steroid use.

“One day we got a call from his wife. He only had a few weeks to live,” Evans said.

Alzado was 88 pounds and had developed brain cancer and testicular cancer as side effects of the steroids. Before he died in 1992 at age 42, Alzado asked Evans and other friends to try to keep other athletes from following his path.

Athletes are “under a lot of pressure to produce, to compete,” Evans said. “It’s nice to have parents and coaches here tonight,” he added, “because sometimes we’re the ones that add some of that pressure.”

Evans said because of his drinking during his NFL career, “I wasn’t representing the team as well as I should.”

He was dismissed from the team and went on to coach high school football. He now coaches at St. John Fisher College in New York and acts as a consultant for teams dealing with drug and alcohol issues.

Evans acknowledged there are many pressures on students to drink and use drugs. He noted newspaper coverage of high school sports, saying, “You’ve got the public putting a lot of pressure on players and coaches to win at any cost.”

“There’s nothing we’re going to do to get away from it,” he said, “except make good choices.”

Evans shared some tips with parents for keeping their children off drugs and alcohol.

• Start early, before there is a problem, and be the one who initiates the conversation.

• Don’t be afraid to talk about sex and relationships. If you run into a problem that’s too big for you, find help.

• Create an open environment in the home. Make your children feel that they can talk without worrying about your reaction.

• Use everyday opportunities to talk instead of having one “big talk.”

• Communicate your values, and listen to your children’s values.

• Listen, be honest and be patient.

Last year there were 26 drug violations by Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School students. This year there have been two.

That improvement is due, in part, to the efforts of the School Health Awareness Committee, which along with Healthy Maine Partnerships, is sponsoring programs in SAD 17 aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles.

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