Other Divers Were in a Very Difficult Position

Mike Downey’s commentary (Aug. 21) on the Bruce Kimball case struck me as misdirected at best. At worst, it displayed a scapegoat mentality, showing little perspective on a terrible situation.

Certainly, Kimball had to be allowed to dive in the U.S. Olympic trials. He is still innocent until proven otherwise, and popular or not, legal rights must be upheld. Whether he should have dived is a judgment call. Admittedly, I would have chosen that he didn’t, but it was his choice to make.

What I found so objectionable was Downey’s unfair and arbitrary attack on Kimball’s fellow divers. Downey accuses them of being immature and self-centered for making no ringing condemnations of Kimball. Downey ignores the fact that many of the divers have been Kimball’s friends and teammates for years, that they probably know no more about the details of the case than what they’ve read in the papers, and there is the delicate matter that several might have directly benefited from Kimball’s absence from the trials.

It seems to me, at this most stressful time of their athletic careers, that restraint is a sign of maturity in anyone placed in so ambiguous a position.

STEVEN KORBAR

Torrance