It’s Fitting That These Guys Find Themselves in a Spot

It’s funny the things you remember and why you remember them.

Me, I just keep remembering Todd Hart and how I owe him an apology.

It was UCLA’s home opener in 1982, the first year we played our home games in the Rose Bowl. I was a sophomore in the stands, watching us rout Long Beach State.

Late in the game, there was a delay, a player injured. It seemed to be taking a long time. I was 19 and obnoxious, maybe I’d had a few beers. I stood up and shouted something: “Get him off the field”--something like that. A few people laughed.

We found out the next day that the injured player was Hart, the Long Beach State defensive back, who hurt his back and was paralyzed.

I can’t remember much other than that. I don’t know what became of Todd Hart. For some reason the image of a football player in a wheelchair keeps popping into my mind the last few days. I’d like to know what he thought when he heard the latest news out of Westwood.

I’d also like to say, “I’m sorry.”

PAUL FEINBERG, Santa Monica

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Don’t be so quick to condemn those players who requested handicapped placards. Didn’t you see the Miami game?

PATRICK PASCAL, Los Angeles

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Fellow Bruin fans, join me in the wearing of black armbands at the Rose Bowl for home games this fall. A subtle form of protest against our heroes who are too good to park in the same lots as the rest of us (but really care about affirmative action, at least for the non-handicapped).

JON HEWITT, Simi Valley

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This is simple. Anyone caught using a illegal sign should be subject to spending three days in a wheelchair and getting first-hand experience at going about the simple tasks of the day, including finding a handicapped parking space on a hot summer day at any crowded parking area.

DAN ROMAN, Tarzana

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Don’t fine or jail these dudes. Let them spend all their practice time and every Saturday this fall assisting the very people they cruelly denied a chance to get around without athletes’ legs.

If Mr. Toledo or Mr. Dalis think sitting all these jerks down for one week against cupcake Boise State is enough punishment, they should find other jobs.

TOM SLOSS, Fountain Valley

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Anyone in this city who believes that these UCLA football players will ever be convicted of these crimes is living in a dream world. I guess if they convict, suspend and remove these idiots from their current position as football players and students, then UCLA won’t have a chance in hell at USC and Arizona.

This is what our sports programs and society are producing these days.

RICK MITCHELL, Burbank

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At the root of the scandal involving handicapped parking privileges for members of the UCLA football team is the question of integrity. It thus seems fitting that the only multiple offender among the players was a guy named Clinton.

BART ROBERTSON, Torrance