In Story of Casey at the Cart, It Looks Bleak for Downey

I am disabled. My dream is to be a professional sportswriter, but my flawed logic and my addiction to bad analogies won’t let me. You see, I can type, but I can’t think. But I have a desk at the L.A. Times and my very own word processor; therefore I get my typing and my picture in the sports pages anyway.

In other words, I am Mike Downey.

PAUL WOOD

Claremont

*

I am disabled. My dream is to write for the greatest sports page in the world. For some unknown reason they actually let me. Go figure. You see, I was born without a brain. I am the lucky one, though. Now I can pick on the handicapped and write terrible columns that make no sense, comparing apples and oranges.

In other words, I am Mike Downey.

DOUG VONBERG

Costa Mesa

*

I am disabled. I am a sportswriter, too dumb to know the difference between baseball, basketball, tennis and golf. In other words, I am Mike Downey.

Golf is about hitting golf shots, period. Casey Martin’s use of a golf cart will not give him an unfair advantage on the PGA Tour. He will play just as many rounds and spend just as many hours on the practice tee as the other players, and he will do it while experiencing the constant discomfort his congenital condition causes him. If he has the game, he’ll stick. If he doesn’t he won’t. End of story.

DAVID NOONAN

Toluca Lake

*

I am a baseball player and I can hit, but I cannot field. I will never be able to play professional baseball. But wait, I can play as a designated hitter. This analogy makes as much sense as Mike Downey’s reasoning on why Casey Martin should not be allowed to use a golf cart on the PGA Tour.

Here is a radical idea. Let everyone on tour ride a cart. That might speed up the game. With the time savings, the pros who need exercise could take a five-mile walk.

PAUL LeSAGE

San Luis Obispo

*

Casey Martin should not be allowed to used a golf cart on the PGA Tour. Those of us who play golf know that walking the course is part of the overall challenge of the game. Is walking 18 holes a grueling test of endurance? Do we golfers consider ourselves well-conditioned athletes because we can do it? No, of course not.

However, does walking six miles in 100-degree heat and humidity on a July afternoon in Memphis affect a person’s ability to concentrate when trying to make a four-foot putt on the final hole? Absolutely. Using a cart would definitely give Martin an unfair advantage.

ROB OSBORNE

Redondo Beach

*

As a childhood friend of Casey’s, I can only attest to his unparalleled strength and courage in the face of adversity. For an able-bodied person to accomplish what he has would be great; for Casey to do it while battling an excruciating disability is remarkable.

JOEL L. RUBENSTEIN

Los Angeles

*

Mike Downey’s column of Jan. 28 regarding golfer Casey Martin is right on. I agree 100%. I have tried to make the same arguments but to no avail. It’s refreshing in this politically correct world that someone has the guts to come out say what Downey did.

Sports are meant to be played on a level playing field with neither side having an advantage. Martin’s invoking the ADA is an insult to those for whom it was intended. If he prevails, the scenarios that Downey wrote of will come to pass.

Oh, before your PC readers bash me--I live with an incurable disease every day and I do not expect special treatment. I don’t believe in taking advantage of it as Mr. Martin seems bent on doing. Also, nothing like a little publicity and public sympathy to really boost your ego. What a windfall for the sponsors. Sad indeed.

TERRY W. HOUSTON

Tustin