Largo Man: I'm Not Trying To Shake Down A 12-Year-Old Girl
You may not have heard of Dakoda Dowd yet, but you will soon -- when she makes her professional golfing debut in April at only 12 years old. Through a special exemption, she'll play in her first LPGA tournament in order to fulfill her dying mother's last wish.
"I've been diagnosed with breast cancer, which has now spread to bone cancer and liver cancer. But my main goal is to spend every day together and let it be as positive as possible," Kelly Jo Dowd explained.
With the help of the Ginn Company, the organization that's sponsoring Dakoda in the tournament, the family wanted to set up a website to help fund breast cancer research in Kelly Jo's honor.
But to their surprise, the domain name DakodaDowd.com was already purchased by a Largo man named Shawn Jackman, who told Action News on Wednesday that he wanted it to be a gift to boost the young golfer's spirits.
"My father is dying of pancreatic cancer, and when I read the first article about Dakoda, it touched my heart. I guess the purchase of the URL was more of an emotional purchase; definitely not a business purchase," he said.
But so far, Jackman has yet to give the website back to the family. The reason? Jackman says when the story was first reported, his name was dragged through the mud in newspaper columns and articles.
Now, in order for the family to get the website back, Jackman is demanding an apology from the Orlando Sentinel.
"My intentions were to give it to Dakoda from the beginning. They haven't changed," he said, insisting that he was not holding the domain name as ransom. "Unfortunately, the Ginn Company got involved with exemptions and media got involved. And two writers who had no contact with me decided to write stories. What I guess I'm doing is I'm holding the media responsible for their actions."
Jackman's unofficial site uses Dakoda's name and picture. But Dakoda's father Mike told Action News that Jackman doesn't have the right to use his daughter's name, and he had a message for him.
"[He should] relinquish the name with no parameters, no considerations," Mike Dowd said. "Just say, 'You know what, this is her name and she can do what she wants with it. I made a mistake and I'll be man enough to admit it.' That's what I have."
Jackman purchased DakodaDowd.com for $35. At one point, he said he would sell it to the Ginn Company for $5,000, but now Jackman says he'll give it the family for free if he gets his apology.
The family, meanwhile, is weighing legal action against Jackman.
Shawn Jackman complained about two Orlando Sentinel articles, including a column by David Whitley that compared Jackman to Ebenezer Scrooge.
"People have been speculatively grabbing domain names for years. It's one thing to grab Beer.com to get a big check from Anheuser-Busch. It's another to register DakodaDowd.com in hopes of shaking down a 12-year-old whose mother is dying of cancer."
-David Whitley, 12/15/05
"I've been diagnosed with breast cancer, which has now spread to bone cancer and liver cancer. But my main goal is to spend every day together and let it be as positive as possible," Kelly Jo Dowd explained.
With the help of the Ginn Company, the organization that's sponsoring Dakoda in the tournament, the family wanted to set up a website to help fund breast cancer research in Kelly Jo's honor.
But to their surprise, the domain name DakodaDowd.com was already purchased by a Largo man named Shawn Jackman, who told Action News on Wednesday that he wanted it to be a gift to boost the young golfer's spirits.
"My father is dying of pancreatic cancer, and when I read the first article about Dakoda, it touched my heart. I guess the purchase of the URL was more of an emotional purchase; definitely not a business purchase," he said.
But so far, Jackman has yet to give the website back to the family. The reason? Jackman says when the story was first reported, his name was dragged through the mud in newspaper columns and articles.
Now, in order for the family to get the website back, Jackman is demanding an apology from the Orlando Sentinel.
"My intentions were to give it to Dakoda from the beginning. They haven't changed," he said, insisting that he was not holding the domain name as ransom. "Unfortunately, the Ginn Company got involved with exemptions and media got involved. And two writers who had no contact with me decided to write stories. What I guess I'm doing is I'm holding the media responsible for their actions."
Jackman's unofficial site uses Dakoda's name and picture. But Dakoda's father Mike told Action News that Jackman doesn't have the right to use his daughter's name, and he had a message for him.
"[He should] relinquish the name with no parameters, no considerations," Mike Dowd said. "Just say, 'You know what, this is her name and she can do what she wants with it. I made a mistake and I'll be man enough to admit it.' That's what I have."
Jackman purchased DakodaDowd.com for $35. At one point, he said he would sell it to the Ginn Company for $5,000, but now Jackman says he'll give it the family for free if he gets his apology.
The family, meanwhile, is weighing legal action against Jackman.
Shawn Jackman complained about two Orlando Sentinel articles, including a column by David Whitley that compared Jackman to Ebenezer Scrooge.
"People have been speculatively grabbing domain names for years. It's one thing to grab Beer.com to get a big check from Anheuser-Busch. It's another to register DakodaDowd.com in hopes of shaking down a 12-year-old whose mother is dying of cancer."
-David Whitley, 12/15/05
posted by John at 7:40 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home