FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
April 2, 2018
Steve Marshall
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 2
OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST SUMMER SANDERS TEAMS UP WITH ALABAMA
ATTORNEY GENERAL STEVE MARSHALL AND RESPONSIBILITY.ORG TO
ENCOURAGE TEENS TO SAY ‘NO’ TO UNDERAGE DRINKING
(MONTGOMERY) -Attorney General Steve Marshall and Olympic gold medalist Summer
Sanders have teamed up to raise awareness of “Alcohol Responsibility Month,” through a
public service announcement (PSA) released by the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol
Responsibility (Responsibility.org).
In the PSA, Attorney General Marshall and Sanders encourage parents to have conversations
with their kids and teens about saying “no” to underage drinking. In total, attorneys general
from 21 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico participated in the PSAs highlighting Responsibility.org’s
Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix program.
“I applaud the work of Responsibility.org in engaging parents and teens in conversations about
underage drinking,” said Attorney General Marshall. “Parents and other family members have
a tremendous impact on the choices of young people and there is no time like the present to
start talking with teens about the destructive path of underage drinking. I am proud to join
Summer Sanders in helping raise awareness of this vital issue here in Alabama.”
“I’m thrilled to be a part of Responsibility.org’s Ask, Listen, Learn team,” said Sanders, who
won two gold medals, one silver and a bronze in the 1992 Olympic swimming competition. “As
an Olympian and a mother of two, I’m keenly aware of how important it is to make the right
choices, be a positive role model, and have meaningful conversations with my kids. I hope these
PSAs will remind parents that they are the biggest influence in their kids’ decision to drink – or
not to drink – alcohol and just how important it is to talk to them about underage drinking.”
In the PSA, Attorney General Marshall encourages parents to begin talking with kids about
alcohol because underage drinking is illegal, unhealthy and negatively effects their developing
brains. In addition, these talks are shown to be effective. From 2003 to 2016, conversations
between kids and their parents increased 73 percent. Since the inception of Ask, Listen, Learn,
underage drinking has decreased 40 percent, according to the 2017 Monitoring the Future
study. While this is a major improvement – underage drinking is at a record low – there is still
work to be done.
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“It was truly a pleasure working with Summer Sanders and so many of our country’s attorneys
general in our longstanding joint effort to combat underage drinking,” said Ralph Blackman,
president and CEO of Responsibility.org. “There is no better time than April – Alcohol
Responsibility Month – to jumpstart conversations about making smart choices. We hope these
PSAs will encourage parents to start the conversation about alcohol responsibility early, and
continue it often, with their kids.”
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