Max Mosley has responded to the sex scandal that has him embroiled in embarrassment and possibly litigation with News of the World.
In a statement released to FIA members and carried at Autosport, Max has responded and made certain that he will remain as the FIA president and will also seek legal action against a person or group he claims has been out to set him up for exposure.
This sounds a bit familiar when Hillary Clinton claimed a “vast right-wing conspiracy†behind the attacks on her husband following the Monica Lewinsky scandal. But unlike Hillary, I can actually believe Max’s claims as there are many who would be put off by his treatment of McLaren during last years espionage scandal. Max may have made a few enemies who feel his $100M fine was out of line. In other words, there is motive and opportunity to justify the setup.
That being said and wanting to give Max the benefit of the doubt and move on; I would like to address the actual response. There are a few things that trouble me and I wish Max would have spent more time considering his words. There is a trend, certainly in American politics, that when someone has done something really boneheaded; they release a statement that says something like. “ I am sorry you are offended†or “I am sorry you were embarrassedâ€. Here is the first of Max’s comments:
“I am very sorry if this has embarrassed you or the clubâ€
The word “this†should be replaced with the word “Iâ€. The group “specialising in a covert investigation†of his private life and background did not embarrass the members of the FIA; Max did.
“I shall now devote some time to those responsible for putting this into the public domain but above all I need to repair the damage to my immediate family who are the innocent and unsuspecting victims of this deliberate and calculated personal attackâ€
His family is indeed the innocent and unsuspecting victims in this scandal. This statement, however, implies that his family isn’t victims of his actions so much as they are victims of the exposing of his actions. As the covert group has initiated a personal attack and that this is the most egregious thing happening and not his errant behavior and lack of judgment.
I have always respected Max for a host of reasons. I have looked upon his decisions as shrewd and iconic in many ways. I consider him a very intelligent man and representative of the FIA. Unfortunately I find this statement patronizing, in poor taste and dismissive of the accountability of his actions irrespective of its association to F1 directly or indirectly. A disappointment of large proportions given his unyielding quest for truth, integrity and justice concerning Ron Dennis.
Simply put; since when does our personal life not reflect or impact our public life? The implication is that we all have dark, seedy personal lives and pretend when we are at work or in public. I apologize if I do not believe that the majority of the world is leading secret lives of desperation, deceit and unethical machinations.
Mr. Mosley, I will share with you the very advice I gave Mr. Dennis; the way you handle this adversity is more important than the actual adversity itself. Stand up, be a man of integrity and please take accountability for your actions. You demanded as much from Mr. Dennis; now I think it would be good of you to demand it from yourself. If you do that; I say let’s move on and forgive and forget. I still like you Max, I really do, but don’t let me down tiger! Do the right thing.
