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Clean and Sober Radio
Former Philadelphia sports director Don Tollefson talks openly about teenage drinking, opioid addiction, legal troubles and prison, alongside his journey to over 4,600 days clean. The conversation highlights his focus on mentoring young offenders, warning about prescription drug risks for seniors and embracing a life built around service and recovery.
56:00•27 Jun 2026
From Sports Desk to Second Chances: Don Tollefson on Addiction, Prison and Recovery
Episode Overview
- Early binge drinking can quietly lay the groundwork for decades of addiction, even when life looks successful from the outside.
- Prescription painkillers, especially opioids, can rapidly escalate dependence and devastate careers, finances and family life.
- Prison time can become a turning point when used for treatment, spiritual support and education rather than just ‘doing time’.
- Older adults face serious risks from overprescribed medications, making it vital to ask doctors and carers why each drug is being given.
- Long-term sobriety is sustained by daily commitment, honesty and giving back, whether through mentoring young offenders or speaking to seniors.
“From that day on, I was an alcoholic and then eventually a drug addict with prescription painkillers, opioids… until 4,641 days ago.”
How do individuals turn their lives around after addiction? Clean and Sober Radio brings that question right into focus as former 6ABC sports director Don Tollefson sits down with host Gary Hendler and co-host Mark Sigmund for a frank, unfiltered chat about success, collapse, and starting again.
Known for his years on Philadelphia’s Action News, Don talks about growing up with a single mum, falling in love with writing, and unexpectedly landing a dream TV job in one of the country’s biggest markets. Then the curtain gets pulled back.
He admits that teenage binge drinking never really stopped: “From that day on, I was an alcoholic and then eventually a drug addict… until 4,641 days ago.” The episode tracks how hidden addiction, prescription opioids, and poor decisions helped bring down a glittering career and led to his 2014 conviction and state prison sentence. Don doesn’t dodge anything.
He describes the strange ‘relief’ of being arrested, the reality of maximum-security prisons, and how he chose to make the most of treatment, faith support, and books instead of just doing time.
You’ll also hear a powerful side of his recovery work: mentoring kids in the criminal justice system, speaking about prescription drug misuse among older people, and challenging families to ask, “Why am I taking this medication?” His outrage at marijuana marketing, kratom, and overprescribing in nursing homes will hit home for anyone worried about a loved one.
Despite strokes, health scares, and losing his upper teeth, Don stays focused on gratitude and service, crediting people like Bernie Parent and Dickie Noles for helping get him into rehab and saying he’s “such a fan of every day of sobriety.” If you’re wondering whether a broken career, a criminal record or years of relapse mean you’re finished, this conversation might make you ask a different question: what could your second chance look like?
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