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Posted: Saturday, 27 June 2009 2:45PM
Suspended coach flip-flops on use of tobacco-quitting substance during games
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OAK FOREST (STNG) -- Suspended Oak Forest baseball coach Ron Czarnecki on Friday said he indeed used a smokeless tobacco substitute during games in the past couple of years, a day after saying he didn't.
Czarnecki on Friday said he didn't understand the question when he said Thursday that he'd never used the product during games.
"I was under the impression you were asking me if I was chewing tobacco-related products the past two years on the field, which I haven't," Czarnecki told the SouthtownStar.
"But I have used the non-nicotine, non-tobacco products very sparingly the past two years during games, just like I said I did in class. Mostly, I'm chewing seeds or gum, but I have, at times, chewed the non-nicotine, non-tobacco stuff. It's been tough. I'm trying my best to correct an addiction."
Czarnecki, head coach for seven years at Oak Forest, was suspended from coaching for one year by the school's administration Tuesday.
Scot Costello, a disgruntled father whose son wasn't given playing time on Senior Day this season, admitted he had an "ax to grind" and accused Czarnecki of chewing tobacco during games.
Czarnecki said he has been chewing tobacco "since I was in college."
Bremen High School District 228, home to Oak Forest, Bremen, Tinley Park and Hillcrest high schools, prohibits any tobacco products on campus. It's also a violation of IHSA bylaws.
"You can't use any tobacco products at IHSA sponsored events," said Matt Troha, executive director of the IHSA. "Even a non-tobacco, non-nicotine product would fall under that category."
Czarnecki's brand of choice, Smokey Mountain, is a smokeless alternative void of nicotine and tobacco.
The Food and Drug Administration approves all of the loose or pouch products used by Smokey Mountain.
There are no laws prohibiting the sale of Smokey Mountain to minors. The company, however, professes to "not knowingly sell, sample or promote Smokey Mountain to anyone under the age of 18."
Czarnecki, a science teacher at Oak Forest, is a graduate of Reavis High School and Northern Illinois University.
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Copyright 2009 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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