Just When the Raiders Start to Win Again, Fans End Up Being Losers

Shame on the 19-year-old Raider fan who sought to prove his manhood by viciously attacking a Steeler fan whose only crime was not rooting for the home team. Shame on his buddies who bought this underage kid enough beer to give him the “courage” he needed to launch his sneaky attack. Shame on the Raiders’ organization for not publicly condemning his gross act of violence.

Shame on the far too numerous Raider fans who justified the violence by blaming the victim, saying, “He asked for it.” Shame on KFWB, which in its sports report the following morning gave credence to that sick justification, explaining away the violence by saying that the Steeler fan “showed poor judgment.”

And shame on our society, where we can no longer spend a leisurely afternoon at a football game and root for a team other than the Raiders without risk of bodily harm by some crazed fan whose courage is fueled by a few too many beers.

MICHELLE BUEHLER, Los Angeles