The Letter That Dan Turner Should Have Sent To Brock

Dear Brock,

What the hell is wrong with you? Is this how we brought you up?!?!?!

You do not take advantage of people who are helpless, incapacitated, or in need of help, PERIOD. We’ve tried to pound that into you from the time you were a child. Whether it’s a retarded kid at school, a handicapped guy on the street, or a drunk girl at a frat party, you don’t take advantage of them. It’s wrong, and I’m absolutely ashamed that you committed such a terrible act. What if the girl you found was unconscious from a diabetic episode, or as a result of an injury? Regardless of how she got there, you weren’t supposed to be taking advantage of her. You should have been helping to find her friends so that she could be taken home safely. If not, call the paramedics to make sure she is OK. People do die of alcohol poisoning, you know.

Please don’t give me the ‘I was drunk excuse’. You are underage. What the #$%* were you doing drinking in the first place? That’s already against the law, and enough to cause us problems as-is. But, you had to add a rape charge as well? What the #$%*.

I thought you were a good kid. We moved to a great neighborhood, enrolled you in the best schools, took you to various activities, so that we could give you the best opportunities we could and mold you into a decent person. Now, I have to wrestle with the fact that after all that effort, you’re not the good kid we thought you were. Brock, please tell me what kind of decent person attacks a helpless person? A decent person would have helped that person, instead of trying to take advantage of them. I thought I had taught you better, but obviously I failed to get through to you. I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life, and to be honest I haven’t slept well since I heard the news. It’s not just the jail time, expulsion, etc that keeps me up at night. It’s the knowledge that my son, whom I love dearly, would commit such a terrible act that will have permanent damage to another person. Your mother and I feel like failures because even though you succeeded in so many of your endeavors, you have failed to learn compassion and empathy.

You have laid to waste years, dollars, and energies that your mother and I have spent on you. The early morning swim practices, the tournaments, private coaching, that we sacrificed on your behalf is all wasted. Your swimming career is over. You’re not going to the Olympics ever, and I doubt another school is going to take you as a swimmer, let alone as a student. I remember how excited we were when you were accepted to Stanford. Even though the cost was the equivalent of a buying a house, we were excited at the opportunity regardless of the cost. Well, tens of thousands of dollars and lots of excitement have gone down the tube. You’re not allowed to step foot onto Stanford ever again. We won’t be getting a refund on tuition, and instead have a heap of legal bills to pay. All that for 20 minutes of ‘action’.

Brock, your mother and I love you with all our hearts and we’ll stand by you through this. However, you still need to be accountable for your actions. We tried to teach you that actions have consequences, and this is one of those tough lessons. Just be thankful that you are only getting 6 months of jail time and 3 years probation. It could be whole lot worse for you, and honestly it should be. You will do your time as a model prisoner. You will keep squeaky clean during your probation, and afterwards. You will need to move back home with us since you have not proven to be capable of living on your own. If anything, you proved to us that if you think no-one is looking, you are capable of doing some pretty evil things. You will need to get some type of job, and hopefully someone will hire you amidst all the negative press you have been getting. We have a lot of legal fees to pay, and you need to contribute somehow. Also, you need to pay retribution to that girl for her legal and medical fees. It’s the very least you can do.

Hopefully, you’ll be able to rebound from this and learn the lesson of a lifetime and become a person you and I can be proud of. It begins with taking responsibility for your actions. I will not let this moment define you. Remember, you are not the victim in this situation. You were the perpetrator. I will not allow you to use this as an excuse for future failure, period. You may not be an Olympic swimmer from Stanford anymore, but you will make something of yourself. You owe it to me, to that girl, and most of all to yourself.

Love,
Dad