Letters

Arguing Casey's Case

Lost in all the rhetoric is this simple fact: Casey Martin rocked
the boat (THE LIFE OF REILLY, June 4). That's why the
oh-so-conservative golf world is upset. It's not about the cart
but the Tour, and its players can't admit that.
JIM PRIMOCK, Boulder, Colo.

Letting Martin ride a cart will give him a competitive edge?
Let's make sure I have the facts straight. Pro golfers don't
catch or throw a ball. They don't run. They don't jump. They
don't punch or get punched. They don't kick or get kicked. They
don't swim or dive. They don't tackle or get tackled. They don't
skate or ride a horse. The competitive advantage they lose to
Martin is that they have to walk a few hundred feet at a
leisurely pace to catch up to a ball they just hit with a metal
club. Give me a break!
TOM PARDUE, Bowling Green, Ky.

Of course we should have sympathy for Martin, and of course the
PGA ought to allow him to use a cart. However, golf is a game
with rules, and it should be for the people who run the game to
decide the rules, not the Supreme Court. If you disagree with the
rules, lobby the PGA, don't play in PGA events, stop watching PGA
events, start your own tour for which you make the rules or take
up a different sport. In our ever litigious country, it's sad
that not even golf can stay out of the courtroom.
MICHAEL MANDEL, Los Angeles

I play golf, and I have a condition that forces me to walk the
course rather than ride in a cart (shortage of funds). This makes
playing the par-5s very difficult, so I'm wondering if the
federal courts could set a maximum yardage of, say, 300 yards for
par-5s.
C.D. MORRIS, Crawfordsville, Ind.

For dinosaurs like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to criticize
Martin's use of a cart is wrong. He's disabled; he doesn't have a
sore back. Big difference.
ERIC RELKIN, New York City

Sum-Sum-Summertime

Steve Rushin's Summery Summary column was a perfect reflection on
summers past, present and future (AIR AND SPACE, June 4). My
experiences prompt me to suggest one addition: Throwing the
football on the beach should always incorporate a timing pattern,
a bathing-suit-clad Joe Montana to a bathing-suit-clad Jerry
Rice, making a fully extended, diving catch into the breakers.
ROBERT W. HESS, Boston

Hey, Steve, this summer, please take me with you. I'll be wearing
my black-and-white Converse canvas sneakers. I'll have my
baseball mitt strapped over the handlebars, my Louisville Slugger
over my shoulder and a baseball nestled snugly into the frame of
my Schwinn Sting Ray with the banana seat. I'll be chewing two
pieces of Bazooka, while pedaling as fast as I can to get to the
empty lot that doubles as a baseball diamond.
GLEN DEEGAN, Eldersburg, Md.

Thank you for reminding me why I became a teacher. No, not to
empower the future leaders of our nation, but to have my summers
off.
DAN CAVENDER, Wichita, Kans.

Tragic Tale

The direct quotes in your story about Martin Bergen (Collision at
Home, June 4) prove one thing--major league players were much more
articulate 100 years ago than they are today.
GEORGE WINE, Solon, Iowa

The article on Bergen by William Nack and Mike Donovan was
compelling. It's sad that little treatment was available at the
time for someone suffering from mental illness other than being
locked up for the rest of his life. As a mental health counselor,
I feel it's important for readers to know that those suffering
from schizophrenia and other mental disorders are no more violent
than the general population, and if they do commit a violent
crime, the reasons for their action are often complicated by
homelessness, lack of treatment, alcohol and/or drugs.
KEVIN B. HULL, Lakeland, Fla.

We Had the Right Continent

I realize that you may be dazzled by the large number of
Brazilian drivers in CART, the IRL and so on, but Eliseo Salazar
is not one of us (INSIDE MOTOR SPORTS, June 4). He is from
Colombia.
ANTONIO ZORATTO SANVICENTE
Sao Paulo, Brazil

COLOR PHOTO: RICH FRISHMAN

A Modest Proposal

If endurance is so important in the game of golf that Casey
Martin (above) should not be allowed to compete while using a
cart, then PGA golfers should carry their own clubs.
DAVID SEYMOUR, Centerville, Ohio