Overpaid athletes, fawning coverage in The Sun

Two recent news articles lead me to question the values of both our society and The Sun. The first was the announcement of the obscene amount of money Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata is being paid — $61 million — to play football through 2015.

There is no other word for it at a time when teachers, police and firefighters — the people who actually affect other people's lives — are being laid off or underpaid, and when elected leaders at all levels don't earn anywhere near the amount athletes get.

What contribution to society does an athlete make that deserves such an outrageous sum of money? What benefit does society reap from such a salary?

Second, I agree with letter writer John S. White's complaint concerning The Sun's equally obscene coverage of the Ravens ("Why does The Sun give the Ravens such a free ride?" Sept. 21).

Why not just name the paper the Ravens Advertiser?

After all, the important news of the world, the nation, the state and the city get short shrift between all the cheerleading and free advertising you give to a profit-making company, one that moreover doesn't even affect most Baltimoreans, who can't afford a ticket anyway.

Jon Kollin, Baltimore