Athletic Director Disputes Her Reported Remarks

This is in protest of unfair and untruthful remarks attributed to me by Rich Tosches in his article (Oct. 13) on former Chatsworth High School student DeWayne Lyons, who was paralyzed in a football game last year.

My concern is not so much with the false connotations placed upon (my comments), but with the effect such misinformation will have on DeWayne and his mother.

Tosches called and asked for DeWayne’s address and phone number. I explained that I no longer had that information, and that if I did, district rules prevented me from giving out such information to the public. (What I did not tell him, because I did not think he needed to know, was that the district’s legal office took all of my records when it became clear a lawsuit was being filed.)

Tosches became irritated with me because I was not able to get this information. He then proceeded to ask me many questions, from which he took selective answers, put them together under one set of quotations and made it appear to be my response to a single question.

Furthermore, Tosches said that it sounded as though I did not want him to write the article. I said I did not care one way or the other if he wrote his article.

However, he wrote that I had no feelings about DeWayne’s situation. This is not the case. I have, and will always have, very deep feelings toward DeWayne and his disability. I was on the field that night of his accident. I helped put him on the stretcher. What happened to DeWayne will stay with me my whole life.

DONNA WYATT

Chatsworth High School

Athletic Director

Editor’s note: The Times stands by its story. Reporter Tosches maintains that the quotes in question were reported verbatim.