Dad Needs To Learn Life Is Not Always Fair

Rich California businessman Leonard Rosen provides another example why this country desperately needs tort reform.

Rosen is bankrolling a $750,000 claim against North Idaho College because his son Matt lost a controversial decision at the regional wrestling tournament in February. The elder Rosen blames Coach John Owen for not protesting a scoring error that cost Matt a point and a chance to wrestle at nationals.

Never mind that Matt won only eight of 26 matches during the season, five of those by forfeit, and probably would have been P.O.A. at nationals. Pinned On Arrival.

The elder Rosen has threatened for months to do everything he could to ruin the touted NIC program, and the claim is the first step toward that end. He also plans to sue Owen, former athletic director Rolly Williams and college President Bob Bennett.

Rosen has said: “I have an unlimited supply of money, and I will make it my life’s mission - my life’s mission - to get justice here.”

Rosen needs to get a life - or at least a better perspective on life.

Matt Rosen lost a 2-to-1 decision in a match for third place because a referee allegedly failed to score correctly. There’s no guarantee Matt would have won in overtime had the match ended tied. But that issue became moot when Owen failed to file a protest.

Most parents, faced with an unfair decision against a child, whether in academics or sports, might protest and possibly fume awhile. But in the end they’d take the child aside and tell him or her that life isn’t always fair. Setbacks and discouragement build character and ultimately make the victories that come our way sweeter.

They certainly wouldn’t sue a school for three-quarters of a million dollars because a coach didn’t dot every “i” and cross every “t” in the heat of a regional tournament - and in the process, embarrass their child immeasurably.

Matt Rosen, though his name is on the complaint, has kept a low profile these past four months as his father ranted in the local media, calling a NIC Sentinel writer a “horse’s ass” for penning a critical column and even taking exception to a caustic message on a Coeur d’Alene doughnut shop.

After his loss, Matt Rosen asked his obsessive father not to seek an injunction to stop the National Junior College Athletic Association wrestling finals. He didn’t want others to suffer because he got shortchanged.

The son has more sense than the father.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board