VIEWPOINT / LETTERS : City Placates Players Who Make a Fuss

I am concerned about the article (Sept. 18) dealing with the reinstatement of athletic eligibility to football player Ibn Bilal and his eventual transfer to Sylmar High.

The article painted the picture that the declaration of ineligibility by Cleveland High should never have occurred. I have a difficult time buying that story.

All of a sudden, through the magic of protest and dissent, the case is reversed and eligibility is granted to an individual who allegedly falsified his address. “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”

Not only does Bilal regain his eligibility, but he is transferred to Sylmar High, whose football team is ranked first among City Section schools in the Valley. Why not let him go to Monroe High, the school in whose area he resides? How did this opportunity transfer come about?

My problem with this whole situation is that the lesson being taught to athletes and their parents is that if you mess up and get caught, you can go to City officials, holler and scream, and get it fixed. In recent years, opportunity transfers for student-athletes and the magnet program have been at the center of many controversial decisions by City athletic officials.

My feeling toward the making of exceptions can be summed up by a statement that a wise old coach once made to me: “You can kid your friends and I’ll kid mine, but let’s not kid each other.”

JOEL SCHAEFFER

Reseda High football coach