Is There Anyone Who’s Too Young?

OK, Bill Dwyre, let’s say I bite and take your argument seriously for a second, that Michelle Wie needs to slow down for her own good [July 18]. Why stop there?

To logically extend your thought, nobody should be ice skating in championships before age 18, and absolutely, positively, there should be no room for 12-year-olds bolting over floor mats and slamming into uneven bars for Olympic gold.

Hey, while we’re at it, let’s eliminate high school football, basketball and all that other high-performance, high-endurance stuff that abuses young, still growing bodies. Actually, I like that idea.

JAN DREIER

Venice

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Cheers for Bill Dwyre. His piece was the most thoughtful and courageous I have seen describing the sad exploitation of Michelle Wie. I would add one more culprit to your list of those responsible for robbing this young woman of her youth -- her sports agent. Hiding behind “the need to protect the athlete,” that group has been a major factor in degrading sports in the past 20 years.

ROSS BARRETT

Los Angeles

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I’m overwrought at the photos of Michelle Wie, with an IV attached, being loaded into an ambulance at the John Deere Classic. Heat exhaustion? Firefighters on the line suffer from that. Drink more bottled water, Miss Wie. Show us you can play with the big boys on the PGA Tour. The crowds are there to see a girl on top of her game in a league of her own -- not to attend a sympathy symphony.

MIKE NALLY

Garden Grove