The Navy Should Tell This Sailor to Shove Off

Well, here we go again. Another athlete seeking special privileges. I am referring to the Naval Raider whose agent’s next tactic is his resignation from the Navy.

Ensign McCallum is a very pleasant, attractive-looking product of the Naval Academy. He is a fine athlete who has received an education paid for by the American taxpayer and has, therefore, accepted the obligation of military performance over a specified period of time. A contract is a contract.

The manipulation has begun--how to get out of a contract with the American people. The NFL and the NBA beckon and all bets are off. To hell with integrity, which, I believe, is part of the honor code of the military academies.

What kind of messages are the young folks receiving about adult life when the sports business sections of the media continually report on athletes who are unhappy with, and tend to renege on, their contracts?

Of course, the antics of sports figures off the field mean little to the many fans who are only concerned with the win column and self-gratification. Sports is the opium of the people.

R. JEFFREY SCOTT

West Covina