Parent on son: 'You break the rules, you break the rules'

BOSTON – As a father and White Sox coach, Mark Parent found himself in tough and rather embarrassing spot Friday, answering questions about his son Nick’s 50-day suspension for performance enhancing drugs.

“He’s got to be his own man. He has to suffer his own consequences,’’ Parent said. “I’ll give him all the advice I can in the offseason to help him get further in his career. The bottom line is he has to sit out after tonight 48 more games. That’s not good.’’

A 36th-round draft pick out of college in June, Parent was suspended Thursday after testing positive for testing positive for metabolites of the anabolic steroid Stanozolol. Mark Parent said his son, a catcher, took it because “he was trying to lose weight and took the wrong stuff I guess. He’s not sure what it was.’’

“But you have to be a little bit more intelligent about those kinds of things. It just goes to show you, no matter who you are, you break the rules, you break the rules.’’

Parent said his son used to laugh when players who tested positive said they didn’t know what they were taking.

“It’s another lesson learned,’’ he said. “Take care of your own stuff. Take care of your own business. He made a mistake and he’s going to pay for it.’’

Parent said his son, who was batting .114, was “very disappointed.”

“He has to be accountable for knowing what you can take and what you can’t take,’’ Parent said. “I’ve told him, there’s no substitute for hard work. You go out and bust your butt and do the work. You don’t need help. Especially when you are 23 years old.’’