Condoning Sharper sends wrong message
Sun columnist Mike Preston's relentless digs about Ravens coaches have finally sent a horrible message to young people about respect.
It is one thing for Preston to constantly take cheap shots at Brian Billick, even though the Ravens are still in the playoff hunt after 14 games.
His shot at former Ravens coach Marvin Lewis in his Dec. 15 column ["Sharper may end up deep in heart of Texans"] - saying Jamie Sharper became one of Preston's favorite players after he threw a cup of water on Lewis for riding him too hard his first two years - sends a message to young people who play sports that they should be rewarded for challenging their coaches and even throwing cups of water at them if that coach drives them hard enough to be a better player.
Maybe Sharper should credit Lewis with making him the player he is today. Preston apparently did not bother to ask Sharper.
Regardless of this, Preston honors Sharper as one of his favorites for publicly challenging his coach.
If Preston ever played sports growing up, I guess he believed it was perfectly acceptable to yell at your coach or throw water on him if he rode you too hard.
Lewis is no Bob Knight or Woody Hayes. And just maybe Sharper regrets his actions in regard to Lewis and does not need Preston to glorify it.
Michael Green Baltimore
Plenty of precedent for young stars on TV
Since Sun columnist Laura Vecsey was so opposed to national television showing basketball player LeBron James because he is still in high school ["Appetite for TV high school game hard to digest," Dec. 13], please bring her up to date on other young athletes who at age 17 or younger got national and even worldwide TV exposure.
Tell her that there is a senior at Towson High, Michael Phelps, who swam in the Olympics at age 15. Oh, yes, he is a professional, and while still in high school he has set several world records. Should he have been kept from competing because of his age?
Did Ms. Vecsey ever hear of Venus and Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Chris Evert and other tennis stars, all of whom became millionaires while teen-agers?
The criterion is talent, not age.
Lefty Elliott Towson
Preston in left field in regard to Morgan
Normally, I enjoy reading Mike Preston's columns. They are usually thoughtful and sometimes insightful. At other times, he seems out in left field with no basis at all for what he is saying.
His recent column ["Morgan sports have some juice, but officials asleep at switch," Nov. 23] saying the president of Morgan State and his budget managers "either don't have a clue or don't care" about the athletic program is a classic example. His accusation is not only unfair, it is flat wrong.
I was an athlete at Morgan during the Eddie Hurt days, when the university was an athletic powerhouse. Nothing pained me more than to see the program disintegrate almost overnight. Back then, we had our pick of quality athletes, and the president could use state money to subsidize the program. That is no longer the case. There is now much more competition for our young athletes, and the program must be self-supported.
The thing that has been so impressive to me and other loyal Morganites has been president Earl Richardson's resolve and carefully planned strategy for rebuilding the athletic program even with the changed circumstances.
And guess what? It is happening.
Donald E.L. Patterson Sr. Baltimore
Crackdown needed on on-field violence
The Sun of Dec. 14, described two controversial incidents of unnecessary roughness in Maryland's NCAA semifinal men's soccer loss to UCLA. One of those incidents, caught on tape, was a case of deliberate violence against a Maryland player. It was probably no coincidence that the same UCLA player was involved in both incidents, and, unfortunately, he was not penalized in either case.
Last month, a player on my daughter's college soccer team was injured and taken out of a game with a torn ligament. Many of us in the stands did not think the collision that caused the injury was an accident. Again, no penalty was called.
Incidents such as these happen frequently in competitive sports, beginning at early ages. Overaggressive players, some egged on by parents and coaches, think it is a badge of honor to "take out" a skilled opponent who is standing in the way of victory.
If parents and coaches don't instill the values of sportsmanship, the athletes won't practice them. But the real problem rests with the high school administrators and athletic associations and the NCAA.
Referees need to be held more accountable. Games should be filmed, and coaches ought to be able to challenge the referee's decision in the case when an injury occurs. There ought to be a post-game process for grievance with teeth in it to determine whether an injury was deliberate or just unfortunate.
There ought to be records kept to determine if certain players are persistently involved in injury incidents. And athletes who commit deliberate acts of violence against other athletes ought to be kicked off the field. If they do it persistently, they should be kicked out of sports.
Mike Johnson Davidsonville