It's all so unfair, says Richard, so easy to explain. Folks just need all the facts, the gory details.

You see, Richard's son is not his biological child. In fact, explains our hero, this boy was a very troubled 7-year-old foster child when, a few years ago, Richard took him in and eventually adopted him. Before his "Survivor" adventure, Richard had his son on a strict diet and exercise regimen, because he (like his adoptive dad) tends to be overweight.

When Richard returned from "Survivor" he found his previously healthy, happy son to be sullen and fat. "Eureka!" he thought. "This kid needs exercise!" And off they went, to resume their 4:30 a.m. six-mile runs. Only junior wasn't very happy about it, and told his teachers that his father roughed him up when he refused to run any farther. Richard was arrested, and his son was put into a state-supervised shelter (though he has since returned to live with Richard).

Richard tells us, on "Dateline," that he was only trying to help his son, because he knows the pain of being overweight. This child caused loads of problems for his previous caretakers (biting, kicking and hitting, Richard tells us), but because of Richard's great love and devotion, gradually, the child began to heal and his behavior improved. Saint Richard, we learn, went so far as to adopt him.

What he doesn't explain is why he feels compelled to let the world know that his son is a former troubled foster child. Why do we need to know this? How does this help his son?

The answer is, it doesn't. It's a fundamental tenet of foster parenting, adoption and, well, parenting, that to the extent you can, you protect your kid from public embarrassment over the events of his childhood. It doesn't serve children to be forever stigmatized for childhood transgressions -- that's why juvenile court proceedings are confidential and why the criminal records of minors are sealed.

Foster parents have to go one step further than biological parents to protect their kids. They're legally required to keep all of the personal information they learn about their children absolutely private. Richard knows this; he was a foster parent to his son before he adopted him.

But Richard is throwing his kid under the bus to save himself and his public image. (Leaving aside the question, of course, of whether we could stomach the scheming, back-stabbing Richard even without this nasty child abuse allegation.) His tattling merely confirms what we already knew about him from "Survivor" -- Richard looks out for Richard.

His strangely narcissistic message echoes the rationale used by the parents of Jeremy Strohmeyer, the adopted child who murdered a 7-year-old girl in a casino bathroom. Richard conveys the same pathetic backpedaling and failure of loyalty as the Strohmeyers, as if to say: "Don't look at me! He was adopted!"

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