The Ben Siegel Contest Tragedy

[JLC]

I know many of us are aware of what happened at Ben Siegel's Midnight Madness contest this past weekend. We've got one thread about it running in QT right now, and I want to thank everyone in that thread (that I've seen so far) for the reasonable and respectful manner in which they have conducted themselves. The reason we put that thread in QT was not to "hide" it, but because we weren't sure how it would go and we did not want to find ourselves overwhelmed with a dozen different threads, potentially full of wild speculations and/or accusations, all about the same topic.

I'm creating this thread in the public forums so that we also have a place to openly discuss the situation. My personal understanding of things so far is that this is a tragic accident that no one could have reasonably foreseen. My heart goes out to Eddie's family, and to Ben, his family and his employees. It's human nature to want to find someone to "blame" and "punish" whenever something bad happens, but at least as of now, I fully believe that there is no indication that anyone did anything wrong.

I'm not going to post any of the numerous links that could point to this story or things related to it, but y'all are welcomed to post links if you wish, so long as they comply with our TOS, as any other links posted here.

There are bound to be numerous new threads started up as individuals hear the story for the first time and try to share it. Those threads will be moved to QT...not to "hide" them, but simply to keep things from getting messy and confusing. Point those newly aware of the situation to this thread and invite them to share here.

Lastly, I would just ask that those who feel compelled to make public statements about what has happened to do so with respect and understanding for those involved. No one wanted this. No one could have foreseen it. And the kind of "hindsight" that this kind of freak accident brings about does nothing except make us paranoid about living our lives and enjoying them.

From myself, and all of us at BP.net...our deepest condolences to Eddie Archbold's friends and loved ones.

[peterneish]

Some of us don't know so it might be a good idea to give the facts as they are to avoid speculation and hearsay. Thanks

[DemmBalls]

Some of us don't know so it might be a good idea to give the facts as they are to avoid speculation and hearsay. Thanks

A quick google search would surely turn up a few news articles.

This is indeed a sad day for the reptile community. My heart goes out to all involved.

[JLC]

Some of us don't know so it might be a good idea to give the facts as they are to avoid speculation and hearsay. Thanks

As I understand them right now...

This past weekend, Ben Siegel had a big party/celebration at his retail store in Florida. This "Midnight Madness" party included a bug-eating contest in which the winners would receive certain ball python morphs. Everything went fine up to and throughout the contests. A man named Eddie won the big prize.

Sometime after the contests were over, Eddie collapsed. CPR was administered and 911 called immediately. I don't know if he died on the scene or en route or at the hospital. No one knows, yet, exactly why he died. He may have aspirated on vomit. He may have had a heart attack or some kind of allergic reaction.

Ben Siegel made a public statement on Facebook, expressing his shock and sadness, before being asked by his lawyer to say nothing more about it to anyone outside of law enforcement and investigators.

[Nate]

Some of us don't know so it might be a good idea to give the facts as they are to avoid speculation and hearsay. Thanks

http://www.7daysindubai.com/Tragedy-...ail/story.html
http://www.local10.com/news/Man-dies...z/-/index.html

[I-KandyReptiles]

[heylookitsjon]

It really is tragic and the comments from the media and the public have been nasty and inflammatory. As much as my heart goes out to Eddies family, I can't help but feel...aggravated that this has turned into a media circus and us Ball python keepers (and helpers in general) are again being seen as mentally unstable and "weird". This sort of incident unfortunately paints us all with the same wife brush, and it's not flattering.

My heart goes out to Eddies family, to Ben and his family and staff, and I pray this all blows over soon.

/2¢


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[peterneish]

Thanks guys. I had read that story just didn't put two and two together! Really tragic!

[chet1028]

What a horrible tragedy. My prayers go out to the family. I feel sad for BSR as well. A fun, well intended contest turned tragic. I joked with my kids about how many bugs they would eat for a snake. It was a really neat idea. So said that it turned out this way.

[kevinb]

I find this very tragic. I've seen elsewhere of people bashing Ben about it and point fingers on whose fault it was. Yes it not presents some negative publicity to the hobby, but no one would have seen this happen.

It was simply a freak accident to someone who fully knew what he was doing, Ben didn't make anyone eat the bugs they did so themselves.

That's not me saying its Eddie's fault either. It was just a horrible horrible accident.

Not anyone's fault.


Just my $.02