Tim Brown Provoked by Texas A&M; Player

I think both Thomas Bonk and Mike Downey miss a very important element in the Tim Brown incident in the Cotton Bowl. If Tim Brown is not provoked by an illegal act of a Texas A&M; player, then there is no incident.

Is it sportsmanship, is it legal to steal the personal property of an opponent? The towel in question didn’t belong to Notre Dame, it belonged to Tim Brown. Brown, and no one else, has the right to dispose of that towel.

If I encounter Mr. Bonk or Mr. Downey and ask them for an autograph, am I at liberty to grab the pen out of their hand and run off with it?

A&M; Coach Jackie Sherrill teaches a rather strange version of sportsmanship. It does, however, seem to fit our current national pattern of making heroes out of the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

ROBERT J. MEAGHER

Palm Desert