Father’s Day is just over a week away – Sunday, June 15.

For most fathers, it’s a day to look forward to. For me, it’s another reminder of just how broken the system can be.

Nearly nine months after the events that changed everything, a restraining order is still in place – not against me, but against my own son. Supposedly for my protection.

And in the meantime, that order has served another purpose: ensuring that my son only hears one version of this story, from one side. He and I still haven’t spoken.

When Ethics Are Treated as Optional

In situations like this, professional ethics are supposed to provide guardrails – especially for those in positions of trust. Those standards exist to protect not just clients and families, but the integrity of the entire system.

But when those standards are treated as flexible, or worse, weaponized for personal gain, the damage can be enormous.

Sometimes it’s not what’s said that matters – it’s what isn’t reported. Sometimes the absence of a report says more than any testimony ever could.

And when professionals who know better make those choices? The consequences fall hardest on the most vulnerable – children caught in the crossfire.

The Damage It’s Done

My son is living in a world where:

• A restraining order is being used not just for “protection,” but to prevent any meaningful contact or communication. This means he isn’t exposed to everything.
  
• He has had no opportunity to hear the full story
  
• The court has, knowingly or not, reinforced a false narrative by refusing to lift the order—even as more and more truths have come to light

This is the real harm. Not to me. I can withstand it. But to a boy whose understanding of his father, his family, and his own identity has been shaped inside a carefully controlled echo chamber.

Why It Matters

The system is often quick to impose restrictions “for safety.” It is far slower to revisit those decisions, even when the facts no longer support them.

And when professionals fail to meet their ethical obligations, that inertia becomes even harder to overcome. No amount of private regret or after-the-fact rationalization undoes the damage of a truth withheld at the critical moment.

That is why accountability matters. That is why professional ethics must be enforced.
And that is why I will not stop pursuing the truth – not for me, but for the son I still hope to reach.

This Father’s Day

Next Sunday, there will be fathers around the country opening cards, sharing meals, hearing the words every dad hopes to hear.

And there will be fathers like me, on the other side of a wall that was never meant to stand this long.
Not because of what I did. But because of what others chose not to do when it mattered most.

The Full Story Is Coming

If you want to understand how this happened, how small, unethical choices can cascade into life-altering consequences – you’ll want to read my upcoming book:

The Death of Parker Springfield: A father’s odyssey through deception, silence, and survival to reclaim not just his name, but the soul of his son.

Coming late 2025. Pre-orders available now.

Because this isn’t just about my family. It’s about what can happen to any family when the system looks the other way.