A Video Tape View

Iam sending you this letter in hopes of setting the record straight concerning the melee after the Santa Barbara vs. Hart playoff game on Nov. 29.

In your notebook column Dec. 1, it was inferred that Rick Scott, coach of the Hart High varsity football team, had swung at and struck several Santa Barbara football players. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am in possession of a video tape that clearly disproves such an inference. (I have given a copy of the tape to Hart High).

Coach Scott should be commended for the actions he took during the altercation, rather than being discredited. The video tape shows Coach Scott moving from one scuffle to the next doing his best to separate players and sometimes fans. In the process, Rick Scott was punched and kicked by Santa Barbara players and fans while never raising a fist at anyone, and certainly not a teen-age football player.

I would like Santa Barbara Coach Lito Garcia to view this video so he could take appropriate action against his players and apologize to Mr. Scott.

I would appreciate your printing this letter so that your readers will not get the wrong impression of Rick Scott, an excellent coach and a fine man.

RITA M. LEE

Valencia