Dufresne Column on High School Football Game ‘Not Sensitive’

The article by Chris Dufresne entitled “High School Football: Good Even When Bad” (Sept. 21) apparently was intended to extol the virtues of high school football. What it actually did was belittle the efforts of some fine young athletes and criticize almost everyone connected with the game. Dufresne may be a sensitive and perceptive individual but neither attribute was reflected in his article.

Perhaps we shouldn’t tell him that his comment “this would be the lousiest game Orange County football had to offer on a Friday night” just might be offensive to parents, students and teachers of the schools involved.

Perhaps we shouldn’t tell him that the Pacific Coast League schools that he dismisses for “their wayward programs with sagging lineman and enrollments” have won a majority of their nonleague games.

Perhaps we shouldn’t tell him that the public address announcer’s comment that “a tackle was made by a whole lotta fellas,” which Dufresne finds so comical, was identical to that made by a network commentator on an NFL game last Sunday.

Perhaps we shouldn’t tell him that the young girls who performed during what he considered “one horrifying halftime show” are not professionals, put in many long hours of practice and deserve better treatment than to be dismissed by such cavalier comments.

Perhaps we shouldn’t tell him that his entire article was irresponsible and hurtful to many young people, their coaches, teachers and parents who make many sacrifices so that interscholastic athletics can continue to be a part of the educational process--regardless of the level of competition or the final degree of expertise exhibited by the participants.

Perhaps we shouldn’t tell him any of these things because it’s futile to rail against injustice when perpetuated by a member of the press.

Perhaps . . . we should. . . .

FRANK INFUSINO

Costa Mesa High School

Principal