[CornFed]

"I'm not defending Sarkisian, whose behavior was boorish at best. But the mere fact that he was under the influence at a banquet does not strike me, in and of itself, as evidence that he's an alcoholic or has lost all sense of professional propriety."

I don't think the comparisons to newsrooms' afterhours drinking, etc. have much validity.

•This is the guy who's supposed to be the leader of the group being featured (i.e. the team) at the event
•This is the guy who's the featured speaker and focus of the event
•The audience includes his team's biggest financial supporters and boosters
•The audience also includes the members of the team he's supposed to be leading
•This isn't just a routine everyday event, it's the showcase for the upcoming year
•His direct bosses are present and closely watching his performance

He may or may not be an alcoholic. but this incident is definitely not remotely comparable to "having a few with the boys"
during or after work!

I think it is beyond the ken of this board in this specific situation to reach some definitive conclusion about whether or not Sark is an alcoholic.  The primary symptom for that diagnosis would be the person's inability to control his drinking.  An outsider's insight to such a diagnosis would be entirely reliant upon repeated incidents of drinking in settings or in a manner that suggests a lack of control.  This was certainly a setting in which drunkenness should appropriately raise the topic of alcohol abuse for Sark, hopefully, but certainly for those in his personal and professional circle on his behalf at least.

Ultimately, the cure for the affliction is entirely dependent upon the diagnosis being reached by the patient.  It is almost always the case that the people around the person affected reach the diagnosis far earlier than the patient themselves.  That will frequently lead to the alcoholic trying to disguise or hide their drinking.  When caught the first few times the excuse of mixing medications is one of the most common tropes, mainly because it might be true.

[CornFed]

"I'm not defending Sarkisian, whose behavior was boorish at best. But the mere fact that he was under the influence at a banquet does not strike me, in and of itself, as evidence that he's an alcoholic or has lost all sense of professional propriety."

I don't think the comparisons to newsrooms' afterhours drinking, etc. have much validity.

•This is the guy who's supposed to be the leader of the group being featured (i.e. the team) at the event
•This is the guy who's the featured speaker and focus of the event
•The audience includes his team's biggest financial supporters and boosters
•The audience also includes the members of the team he's supposed to be leading
•This isn't just a routine everyday event, it's the showcase for the upcoming year
•His direct bosses are present and closely watching his performance

He may or may not be an alcoholic. but this incident is definitely not remotely comparable to "having a few with the boys"
during or after work!

I think it is beyond the ken of this board in this specific situation to reach some definitive conclusion about whether or not Sark is an alcoholic.  The primary symptom for that diagnosis would be the person's inability to control his drinking.  An outsider's insight to such a diagnosis would be entirely reliant upon repeated incidents of drinking in settings or in a manner that suggests a lack of control.  This was certainly a setting in which drunkenness should appropriately raise the topic of alcohol abuse for Sark, hopefully, but certainly for those in his personal and professional circle on his behalf at least.

Ultimately, the cure for the affliction is entirely dependent upon the diagnosis being reached by the patient.  It is almost always the case that the people around the person affected reach the diagnosis far earlier than the patient themselves.  That will frequently lead to the alcoholic trying to disguise or hide their drinking.  When caught the first few times the excuse of mixing medications is one of the most common tropes, mainly because it might be true.