Teresa speaks out about lawsuit

By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com
March 4, 2001
2:54 PM EST (1954 GMT)

LAS VEGAS -- A subdued Teresa Earnhardt presented herself to the media Sunday for the first time since her husband's death two weeks ago in order to read a statement designed to put to rest the continuing controversy surrounding Earnhardt's death.

So Mrs. Earnhardt hoped.

The unfortunate irony, at least as far as the family and NASCAR might be concerned, is that her statement, while effective and eminently understandable, will likely only lead to further speculation about the exact nature and cause of The Intimidator's death.

Joined on the dais by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and accompanied by DEI drivers Michael Waltrip and Steve Park, Mrs. Earnhardt pleaded both with the media and with the public to consider the family before even considering or allowing her husband's autopsy photos to be released.

The Orlando Sentinel has been the leader of an effort to have medical experts view the photos in an attempt to either determine or otherwise eliminate likely or unlikely causes of Earnhardt's death.

"We can't believe and are saddened that anyone would invade our privacy during this time of grief," an emotional Mrs. Earnhardt read.

"I want to let you know that if access to the photos is allowed, others will demand them too. And make no mistake, sooner or later the photos will end up unprotected and published ... and most certainly on the Internet.

"We are thankful to the Florida court," she continued, "which has denied access to the private photos for the time being. We hope it will order that these images remain where they belong -- in the medical examiner's confidential records.

"Ensuring that the media or others cannot violate Dale's dignity and our family's privacy will make the healing process possibly less painful."

Indeed, unfettered access to those macabre photos would clearly be a disaster of stunning proportions both to the Earnhardt family and the DEI organization.

However, according to sources for The Sentinel, the paper proposes that the photos be viewed by qualified experts under the very strict observance of designated Florida authorities.

In other words, according to The Sentinel, the paper has no desire to publish or otherwise take advantage of the photos; the paper is simply interested in perhaps reaching a definitive conclusion to the mystery surrounding the exact cause of death.

By preventing qualified experts from viewing those photos, the state of Florida and the Earnhardt family thereby lessen the probability that NASCAR and its drivers will ever know definitively whether or not Dale Earnhardt Sr. was the fourth driver in nine months to die as a result of basal skull fracture.

"Releasing the pictures will serve only to violate the privacy of our family and the integrity of Dale's legacy," Mrs. Earnhardt read.