Check Egos at Gym

I would like to set the record straight regarding the Feb. 6 article (“Basketball Player Crosses Line in Municipal Gym Assault Case”) concerning basketball and the violent behavior of a few players at the Municipal Gym in Balboa Park.

In the 18 months I held the position of league director of the San Diego Basketball Assn., I scheduled more than 1,100 league games. During that time, I kicked seven players out of the association. Six of the seven were from the “A” league. One of them was Chauncey Powell.

The Chauncey Powell-Barry Alman incident was an isolated situation because it involved a ballplayer hitting a referee. Hopefully, this will never happen again, in this sport or any other.

Regarding my resignation as director of the association, I did so to have more time to organize basketball tournaments to raise money for improvements to the Municipal Gym, not because of violence there as the article implies.

In the future, I hope basketball players and referees will learn to check their egos at the door before they enter a gym. It’s just a basketball game. We all have to get up and go to work the next day.

CORY DUNKIRK

San Diego