The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 4 of 11)

James Crystal /p>

After watching, (and rewatching on ESPN) the tape of the incident, it appears that the fan never took his eye off of the ball. It appears that he accidentally hit the ballplayer. The ball was moving quickly and, so, was his arm. He should have been escorted from the ball field and he was.

The ballplayer, however, hit the fan immediately, even before throwing the ball. This appears to be an arrogant response towards what Sheffield believes to be an attack. Artest-like, if you ask me and some kind of punishment is due Sheffield, too.

p>Without season-ticket holding fanatics, would Sheffield be a factory worker or a truck driver? br> -- Ed Puma /p>

Thank you, Mr. Paul Beston, for drawing an insightful connection between the relationship of sports fans' unruly behavior and modern athletes' lack of sportsmanship. And I thought I was the only one who saw Muhammad Ali as the Father of the End Zone Dance...

While Ali's athletic accomplishments are legion, his penchant for self- promotion at the expense of his opponents (e.g. The Mummy, The Gorilla, The Washerwoman) has now morphed into on-field self-celebration for the most routine of plays, depicting a clear lack of respect for fans and officials, as well as opponents. Quite naturally, the sentiment is returned by overwrought or over lubricated sports fans. It's hard to imagine such self-possessed presences as DiMaggio, Nicklaus, Favre or Joe Louis having cups of beer tossed in their direction in any American city for moon-walking around a beaten foe.

p>Let's hope that for every potential chest-thumping, jersey pulling, pelvis thrusting Ali clone, there are enough youth, high school and college coaches who take some time to teach the "quaint courtesies" of sportsmanship to put some dignity back on the field and in the bleachers. br> -- Deane Fish br> Altamont, New York /p>

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