Letters

Kudos to Deford ! What kind of society is this that gives millions to men for participating in such a moronic "sport"? SI should eliminate all articles related to these modern gladiatorial events.
DOUG HARGETT
Saginaw , Mich.

I am tired of reading denunciations of boxing. A boxing course is mandatory at all the service academies, to develop self-discipline, coordination and courage. Boxing has always been recognized as an honorable sport for those reasons. The demands of professional boxing include other variables that are not all honorable. However, I think onetime New York City mayor Jimmy Walker put it best when he said that boxing is a profession in which "they don't fight behind each other's back, but face to face. They shake hands right off, fight it out according to agreed rules, the winner and loser shaking hands again at the finish, face to face, as they began." That is what a child watching it on television should be told.
LIEUT. JIM SHANNON, USN
Monterey , Calif.

A child will no more get the impression that society approves of violence from watching boxing than from watching pro football or, for that matter, any of a dozen prime-time television programs.

Boxing has its problems. But I submit that it is boxing's essential honesty, not its violence, that scares Deford . Boxing is about the struggle of will, body and spirit to survive. Instead of hiding beneath pads or behind societal conventions, boxers, naked to the world and to each other, collide. The winner wins and the loser loses—simple, honest and very frightening.
ROBERT J. MAJTELES
Palo Alto , Calif.

Whether or not it is a gruesome reminder of a bygone era, boxing's brutality is at least controlled. The uncontrolled violence that fills contemporary life makes men punching each other with padded gloves according to rules enforced by a referee pale by comparison.
JACK M. GREENFIELD
New York City

REGGIE MILLER
I wish to clear up some inaccuracies in COLLEGE BASKETBALL (Feb. 16). It was stated that Reggie Miller is "in his senior season, besmirching his surpassingly elegant play with some basic Jugheadian behavior. Spitting at opposing players, slapping away defenders' hands, disdainfully bouncing balls off their legs on inbounds plays and gesturing at officials with rubbing fingers (the familiar sign for payola) are just a few of Miller 's lowlights this season."

The spitting incident occurred once, when UCLA played at BYU during Reggie's sophomore season, more than two years ago. At the time, Reggie said that he had spit because one of the opposing players had spit at a Bruin , but he realized his reaction was not the correct one. He was benched for the first half of UCLA 's next game (against St. John's at Madison Square Garden ) by head coach Walt Hazzard , and the incident has never been repeated.

Reggie's gesturing at an official also happened just once, and that was last season at Tucson , after Reggie fouled out of a game. As for the other items mentioned, I'm sure that Reggie is not the first (or last) player to slap away a defender's hand or to toss the ball at an opponent's legs when he is inbounding the ball, running out of time and unable to find an open teammate.

Reggie, now the No. 2 scorer in UCLA history, has worked hard to put certain incidents from early in his career behind him. I feel you have done him a disservice by stating that these old incidents occurred this season.
MARC DELLINS
UCLA Sports Information Director

?Dellins is right. The spitting incident and the gesturing at officials did not happen this season. SI apologizes.—ED.