Marinovich Story Rubs Him Wrong Way

I realize this is sports, not world news, but how appalling is it to wallow in maudlin pity for Todd Marinovich without making even the tiniest connection comparing the treatment and repeated opportunities this young man has been handed, simply because he is a talented athlete, to those of the typical drug offender?

It is really offensive to repeat once again, changing only the last act, this saga of an undeniably gifted and charming young man, who has been given chance piled upon chance, at an expense lavished only upon a few, when literally tens of thousands of young people, many far more worthy, and possessing talents of far greater potential value to their fellow man, are languishing in prisons, with long sentences, often for just one incident less serious than several of Todd’s.

I wish Todd the best, as I do anyone with an addiction problem, but that does not alter the fact of his most favored treatment. If you are going to deal with real-world problems in the sports section, you have an obligation to at least briefly put them into a real-world context; only a handful of such repeat drug offenders escape prison; dare I say that the vast majority of those are either wealthy or celebrities or both? If only the average drug arrestee had a fraction of the attention and treatment lavished on Todd there would be so many salvaged lives, now wasted.

By the way, considering his often inexplicable behavior, are you really surprised that a long-term addiction is now revealed? The signs were all there.

TONY BARNARD

San Pedro

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Casey Wasserman and Coach Brock should be proud that they are doing the right thing by not simply discarding Todd Marinovich when he slips. People who are addicted to drugs need to be treated, not punished. They’ve already punished themselves by getting addicted. Guys like Marinovich, Strawberry, Howe and thousands of others we don’t even know are ill. Putting them in prison and then throwing them out into the streets is the exact wrong thing to do. It’s up to us as a society to see that they get treated for their illnesses and then treated with respect for working to overcome them.

ROBERT GAUSTAD

Venice