This is not a post about the sins of hunting nor is it to bash reality TV or even celebrity. It is about how we as a society react to our mistakes. I would ask you to take this case and completely remove from television. In fact, think of people in your workplace whose first reaction to a mistake is to cover up and blame it on someone else.
Reality TV star Theresa Vail is the host of a show on the Outdoor Channel. She is a hunter, a member of the Army Reserve and attractive. In an article posted on Fox News (December 9, 2015) entitled: “Theresa Vail ‘deeply sorry’ for covering up illegal grizzly bear shoot in Alaska,” it is stated:
“Outdoor Channel host Theresa Vail said she is ‘deeply sorry’ for illegally shooting an Alaska grizzly bear and attempting to cover it up.”
I want to share a quote from her (most probably her publicist) as it is telling:
“This May, during an Alaskan guided bear hunt, I unintentionally harvested a second bear while attempting a follow up shot. I then followed poor advice and allowed the second bear to be improperly tagged. A few days later, the film crew and I reported the incident and have since fully cooperated with the proper authorities…I am deeply sorry for my mistakes.”
The television star’s show is named: “Limitless with Theresa Vail,” and it glorifies the notion that women should have no limits – and I concur, except when it comes to unethical behavior. She and her two hunting guides have been charged with misdemeanors.
The article goes on to say: “Troopers say master guide Michael Wade Renfro and assistant guide Joseph Andrew Miller conspired to cover up the violation up by obtaining a second bear tag and submitting the wrong information to game authorities.”
The usual characters
Naturally, Theresa Vail’s attorney and the show’s creators are calling the event unfortunate and emphasizing how committed they are to good hunting practices. The incident itself will undoubtedly fade away and I doubt that it will even create a ripple at PETA headquarters, but the incident does talk to how we as a society react to our mistakes.
Theresa Vail did not “harvest” the second bear, she inadvertently killed it while trying to finish off the first bear. I only pray the first bear was quickly put out of its misery. The two guides, both highly experienced, told her to cover it up and she followed their advice. The motivation for her to do so was probably the two most basic of 21st Century motivators: money and greed.
A lot of green stuff is at stake when the cameras are rolling. Theresa Vail’s pretty face is not just about a hunting program. There was much more in store for her – and I’m not naïve, there will be much more to come.
“I am deeply sorry for my mistakes,” was the statement she reputedly said after the truth was determined by authorities. The trio obtained a second “tag” illegally, put it on the bear and were content to let it slide. They got caught.
In my position, I have heard and certainly seen numerous cases of cover-up’s in corporations, associations and even among athletes. It is making bad decisions, intentionally covering them up, and then blaming others for leading you astray. It is the co-worker who has stolen a computer for personal use or who has plagiarized and then blamed someone else, it is someone taking a drug they knew to be illegal and then blaming it on the trainer who gave it to them. It is the head of an association using donations for personal gifts and vacations and then saying they went away on what they thought was association business. It goes on and on, but the origins have a common root: a lack of ethical training.
As a society, we are doing a better job of empowering women such as Theresa Vail, but we are not doing a very good job of endowing them with the ethical responsibilities that go along with empowerment. It is a failure of our educational system, parenting, the legal system and corporations.
Where will this end? Where will the lack of accountability and ethical behavior take us? It is difficult to say, but one thing is certain, as a society we are losing trust in our leaders, our corporations, our clergy, our military, our media and even our healers. Is Theresa Vail to blame for all of this? Of course not. She is a victim as well, though she may not yet see it.
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