19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

ON THE LINE
Sirs:
Hooray! Someone has finally laid it on the line and made an effort to stand up and be counted (The Desperate Coach, Aug. 25 et seq.). Athletics in the past have been a means, or a stepping stone, to reach the goals of a democratic society. The coaches, naturally, have been the vital cog in the leadership necessary for these goals. I only wish that every person in America understood the relationship of athletics to the necessary morals for survival and for democracy.

Let's get rid of the buck passers, those who don't want to rock the boat, those who want to feather their own nests and all the other gutless leaders who won't stand up and be counted. Discipline promotes respect, and respect is a reflection of discipline. Young people need and desire discipline and guidance. It is past time for all of us to stand up on our own two feet, on our own training and on our own experience and give this guidance to them.
GARY HARPER
Crestline, Calif.

Sirs:
I have some difficulty understanding what coaches mean by "discipline." If discipline means shaving your face and skull and wearing a bright red blazer with the middle button buttoned, then this is ridiculous.

An athlete has to develop most of his playing ability prior to reaching college—otherwise he wouldn't be given a contract, er, scholarship. But players don't learn how to play football and basketball by rigidifying their lives, they learn by playing on playgrounds, in alleys or parking lots and they do so for fun. They wear sneakers and dirty trousers and sweat shirts. Only after coming to certain colleges are they subjected to what is called discipline.

But does this discipline and unquestioned obedience have harmful results? I think the answer is clearly yes.

Bear Bryant 's statement was indicative though incomplete. He said: "If they see anything that looks like a hippie or a rebel in those pictures, they'll have to point it out to me." To this it should be added that if they see anything that looks like a black athlete it should be pointed out to him.

And what is Bear's defense for his ways? He won't change because he's "too old." I believe he's right, and when people get old they ought to step aside. Coaches take heed.
JERRY V. LEAPHART
New York City

Sirs:
Who are college athletics for, the athlete or the alumni? If it is for the latter, which I suspect it is, then maybe the desperate coach ought to take a closer look at the desperate athlete.
JEFFREY A. GLINER
Teaching Fellow
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio

Sirs:
I wonder if Coach Bob Devaney realized how hilariously appropriate at least half of his homely analogy was ("Faculty people telling athletic people how to do their job is like a carpenter telling a barber how to cut hair"). John Underwood 's article makes it very clear that the desperate coach is mostly desperate about getting his players' hair cut.
E. W. OLDENBURG
Grand Haven , Mich.

Sirs:
John Underwood 's article implies that any player who is not solely concerned with the team effort and relating to the coach like a mindless boob cannot and should not be tolerated. In Mr. Underwood 's opinion the coach who attempts to deal with his players as intelligent, rational and concerned young men ends up losing games and face.