Not trying to copout, but theres no point in arguing anymore. We'll just find out if the father is a true child abuser or not. Plus I do have some work to do today...
Wes, you have a point in making sure we don't condemn someone on hearsay. But you're an idiot for arguing with an eyewitness account from a credible source. This isn't just anybody, it is one of the most influential people in roadracing in this country. His word means something.
Wes, I'm wondering what your opinion will be if the facts turn out to be exactly as has been surmised here. You need to examine the reasons on both sides of this disagreement. You are drawn to be defensive of the situation based on your past experiences with this person not this persons actions which you did not observe. JUs motivation would seem to be based on what he has seen and heard to be true from reliable sources, which is to make sure that this won't happen again and if it is true that the proper action is taken. Knowone has said they know this man to be evil, simply flawed and behaving in a way detrimental to the health of his children and the sport in general. Accountability is prudent.
If he deserves to be stoned, I'll throw the first one, Xavier is an awesome kid, and Sophia is really cool too. It's been a incredibly rough season for the family so just be sure you know what you're talking about if you do try to press charges or ban the family from racing.
Out of curiosity I just re-read this entire sad and sordid thread. I did not see any posts about pressing charges or banning from racing. Is it possible that the hyperbole you accuse John of is actually your own?
Nope. I'll let John answer this though, what do you intend to do with the knowledge you gain from investigating the father?
What am I gonna do? I'm gonna use the file folder of eyewitness statements and e-mails I have collected, plus my own notes, to try to convince various sanctioning bodies to enact a mandatory, well-defined code of conduct for parents that includes warning, then suspending, then expelling abusive parents. Anything that includes hitting or dragging a crashed kid would go directly to expulsion with a referral to appropriate government agencies. Both parents of every kid participating in a given sanctioning body's races would have to agree to and sign the code of conduct. That's my plan. Making it happen may not be easy. But doing the right thing often is not easy.
You'll NEVER get that done. It's like trying to buy airfence yourself. If the sanctioning bodies won't do it, what is one guy going to do....
Yeah I remember something about that, some guy thought he'd give it a try and AMA Pro issued a press release saying it couldn't be done and that it took something like 4 or 6 months to get Airfence from order to deployment. Five weeks later there were 20 new, 30-foot sections deployed at Road Atlanta and two weeks after that there were 35 new, 30-foot sections deployed at Road America. Not sure how that happened.:up:
