Hancock Lawsuit = Missed Opportunity

I don't know about you, but I've been fascinated by the aftermath of the Josh Hancock tragedy. I initially wrote about the knee-jerk reaction of Major League Baseball teams banning alcohol in their clubhouses, saying that they were closing the barn door after the horse was out.

Now that Dean Hancock has decided to sue Mike Shannon's Restaurant for giving his son as much alcohol as he asked for, I feel compelled to tackle the same topic from a different angle.

Before I go any further, I should mention that I've gotten a couple of insightful comments on the earlier Hancock posting, and I would encourage anyone reading this to check those out as well. If it seems like I'm copying the anonymous sentiments shared on this blog, I'm not. They just agreed with what I had already planned to write.

In one sense, Mr. Hancock's reaction isn't much of a surprise. He's a grieving father who's looking for a way to alleviate his pain. Unfortunately, he has elected to blame others rather than owning up to his son's mistake.

Mr. Hancock's inability to accept responsibility is indicative of our culture. If you've become obese by eating Big Macs, the only logical response is to sue McDonalds! Likewise, Mr. Hancock is suing a restuarant for his son's recklessness, as if their cutting him off would have prevented the accident altogether. The reality is that Josh Hancock's unlimited access to alcohol at a particular restaurant was only a small variable in a complicated equation.

In choosing to blame his son's accident on others -- the restaurant, the tow truck, the stalled driver whom the truck was picking up -- Mr. Hancock missed a golden opportunity to publicly own up to his son's mistake and plead with others not to repeat it.

A co-worker brought to my attention the reaction of Carroll O'Connor (Archie Bunker) to his son's death by overdose. In the wake of tragedy, O'Connor took the platform made available to him and became an anti-drug spokesperson and lobbyist.

I wish Mr. Hancock would be willing to do the same.

As I wrote in the first post, the damage has already been done: Josh Hancock is dead. I'm starting to think the greater tragedy is the teachable moment gone to waste.