‘If you make a mistake, it’s OK’: Gee Scott regrets missing his son’s wedding, but says he’s moving forward

While the FIFA World Cup rages on in Seattle, many fans lucky enough to attend a game at Seattle Stadium may have seen KIRO host Gee Scott emceeing, but were unaware of the sacrifice he made to be an integral part of the event.

Months ago, Gee revealed on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio that he was selected to work the World Cup games in Seattle, but an unfortunate scheduling conflict left him with a major decision: work the World Cup or attend his son’s wedding.

“So, I missed my son’s wedding. I was hosting World Cup matches here at Seattle Stadium, and that was a choice that I made,” Gee said. “I wasn’t in the room for his wedding day, but I want to go back. This is something I talked about in April; I told him about it in April, we talked about it in early May, on this very show, and MyNorthwest wrote about our conversation.”

Gee pushes back on claims that his son only recently learned of his decision

Gee addressed People magazine’s coverage of his decision. The outlet first wrote about it in May, then resurfaced the story Thursday, saying Gee regretted his choice.

“The story is that he got married, and that’s great,” Gee said. “For me, I missed that moment. I can never get that moment back.”

“You’re saying that you regret it?” KIRO host Ursula Reutin asked.

“Sure, no doubt, but you move on,” Gee responded.

Gee wanted to clear the air about some inferences that were made from responses to the article that have circulated online.

“I want to say, this whole idea going around that, ‘Oh, his son finally found out, and didn’t know until this time,’ like that’s not the case,” Gee said. “However, I don’t want to argue timelines. I do want to say the simple part out loud, and nobody can debate. I missed the wedding; that’s a mistake I’ll carry, and for everybody who wants to say something about it, good. I’m a big boy. I’ll be OK.”

“I know we are living in a time where headlines are the things that people read; nobody reads the story, but in the story, I talked about how when dads get it right, nobody says a word,” he continued. “But when a dad falls short, a lot of people like to show up and pounce on that. I used that moment to send a message out to people, whoever you are, if you make a mistake, it’s OK, move on, and go be better.”

Story drew a wave of criticism online, with many quick to judge

Ursula noted how quickly the story circulated online, drawing waves of criticism. But KIRO producer Andrew Lanier pointed out that many of those critics have never faced a decision that carries that kind of weight.

“I saw people who were taking opportunities to rip on you,” Ursula said. “Calling you all sorts of names, and saying, ‘How could you do this,’ and take pot shots, or use it as an opportunity to try to make a couple extra bucks by getting people to go beyond a paywall for their story.”

“It’s impossible not to have an immediate gut feeling when you see the headline,” Andrew chimed in. “Upon reflection, I realized it’s really easy to have a feeling about this when you’d never be in the position to have to make that choice. I’ll never be in that position. I’ll never have to decide whether I’m going to play an NFL game or be there for my son’s birth.”

Gee found that parents all over have disappointed their kids at some point in their lives, but it’s how you respond that makes a real difference in both their lives and your own.

“I think all parents, and all people, are in situations where they have made a decision that was wrong, or you disappointed your kids,” Gee said. “Raise your hand if you’re a parent and you’ve never disappointed your children. It’s gonna happen. I missed that moment. I can never get that moment back, but you move on. Gee’s fine, and oh, by the way, he’s still my son. It’s still my son; you just keep going, and some people will judge, but they don’t have kids. Sometimes people who don’t have kids are trying to judge situations about parents and kids.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.