Mosley Sex Scandal

Sex scandal? Never thought I’d be talking about this in Formula One.

Here is a link to the article if you wish to read it. It is explicit so if you don’t like that sort of material, avoid it.

I pondered about posting today on this. You have been warned! Part of me considered leaving it twenty four hours to see what responses come out about it. It was a complete shock to hear the News of the World running a story about Max Mosley, FIA president was involved in a Nazi role-played sexy orgy. Yeah, not what we all thought we would wake up for this morning.

I honestly don’t know what to make of it. First off I have to think of – is this true or not? It’s completely possible that this is staged. Along with the story there was a video on the News of the World site. However this has since disappeared off the site. It popped up on YouTube but again that has disappeared. I managed to view it before it got yanked down and it is impossible to say if it was Mosley or not. That’s my honest view from what I saw. This NotW video was edited and had its own text filled in to tell the story. Was it pulled down for been to explicit? Or was it pulled down for other reasons?

An interesting thought that came from Kieran, a friend and fellow sim-racer was could it be an April fool’s joke. Quite plausible except that it’s twenty four hours before hand. If it was, then it’s a pretty sick joke. It’s a far out suggestion and probably not true, but anything with this story is possible.

There appears to be no outright denial from Mosley. The FIA has remained mum on the subject and Bernie reckons it isn’t true. I reckon tomorrow we’ll get some sort of statement from Mosley. Right now it’s said that he’s discussing things with lawyers. If this story is false, then the tabloid could find itself in extremely hot water. Naturally there would be a case of defamation against character, but let’s not forget that Mosley has good knowledge of the law.

Then there is the case of someone’s privacy. Is it right for someone’s private life to be splashed out in such a fashion, regardless of the racial connotations of the alleged actions? I’m surprised people still come out with this defence. For years famous people have had their private life looked into by the media. It’s something I don’t agree with at all but that’s the way tabloids for the most part roll with. The easy response to give is that this is something the public has a right to know. Crude, but that’s one of the reasons that one can get away with this according to the Media Law course I took last year. Of course, said allegations have to be true for that to work.

This brings me on to the racism element of this whole issue. If, and again I stress the ‘if’ till more facts come out about this, are true then it Mosley should go. It makes him a hypocrite after jumping all over the Hamilton Barcelona issues in pre-season testing. One must preach what he teaches; otherwise the lesson is rendered useless. Those of Jewish faith have been quick to call on him to resign, including Sterling Moss. On one hand it’s premature. They are willing to stick their necks out on the word of a tabloid. These sort of papers thrive on sensationalism (yep that three year degree coming in handy again there!). If this is true, then they are completely right, but I would’ve expected them to hold out until they heard all sides. Of course, if they didn’t say anything they would probably be accused of letting it slide. Catch 22 – dealing with the public can be such a tightrope.

I’m sitting on the fence on this one as it stands. That means I’m not taking any sides, just in case some people don’t understand that. Not all the facts are visible in this and nobody can make a proper assessment on this until they are all out in the open.
If it’s true, then he should go. There is no question about it. Hang his head in shame and if he knows what’s good for him don’t appear in public again.
However, should the allegations be false, I have to wonder can he survive? I doubt it. His reputation, regardless of what happens is tarnished. People will still look at him and think of this whole thing and associate him with it. That’s just how people think.