Friday marks ten years since the skiing accident of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, which separated him from public life forever and whose true condition has not come to light to this day.
“The media has understood that even an exceptional athlete is entitled to the protection of his privacy and that specific reporting about his health condition is inadmissible,” lawyer Felix Damm explained last October in an interview with ‘Legal Tribune Online. “of the Schumacher family for 15 years.
He added that the media have also understood that reports that talk about medical treatments or speculate about specific therapeutic measures are equally inadmissible.
“They understand that this is also the view of the courts, including the Supreme Court. The fact that this case concerns Michael Schumacher does not change that. They have understood this,” he emphasized.
Only the inner circle knows Schumacher’s true health condition and his family and friends have promised to remain silent about this and to strictly adhere to that agreement.
“I miss my Michael from back then. Life is sometimes unfair,” his brother Ralf, also a former Formula 1 driver, said in statements to “Auto Bild” on Wednesday.
He noted that “Michael was often lucky in his life, but then this tragic accident happened,” and while fortunately “thanks to the possibilities of modern medicine, things could be done,” he added, “nothing is the same as before. “
“I can say for myself that his accident was a very bad and transcendental experience for me too” and changed the family’s fate, he emphasized, without going into further details.
In recent statements to the French sports car “L’Équipe”, Jens Todt, the then Ferrari race director who managed to bring Schumacher to the team in 1996, stated: “Michael is here, so I don’t miss him.”
However, he noted that “he is no longer the Michael he used to be” and without revealing anything about his health status, he clarified that “he is different and is miraculously protected by his wife and children.”
The family lawyer emphasized that everything to do with the former pilot was “always about protecting what was private” and that in that sense there was a lot of discussion about how to achieve this goal.
There was even consideration “whether a definitive statement on Michael’s health would be the right way to do that,” but after that the story wouldn’t really have ended and updates would have to be provided on an ongoing basis, he explained.
Even given the general respect for the privacy of the former pilot and his family and the silence surrounding their situation, some media outlets may lend themselves to some form of reporting that ends in a lawsuit, as happened this year with the alleged interview. in the publication pink “die aktuelle” to Schumacher with answers generated by an artificial intelligence system.
The case ended in the sudden dismissal of Anne Hoffman, director of the magazine, by media group Funke to which this publication belongs.
“This article, which is in bad taste and has led to confusion, should never have been published. It in no way meets the standards of journalism that we and our readers expect from a publisher like Funke,” said the magazine manager of the group, Bianca Pohlmann. , in an apology statement
On January 3, Schumacher turned 54 and his daughter Gina-Maria, a 26-year-old driver, and his son, Mick, 24, also a Formula driver, congratulated him via social networks.
Gina-Maria published a photo of herself seen with Schumacher before a kart race, causing her father to give a mischievous look, accompanied by the message: “Congratulations, Dad! A throwback to our karting days.”
Mick even posted two photos, one of them from his father’s time in Group C before moving to Formula 1, with the message: “Congratulations on the best dad ever.”
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
