Story Should Have Been Reported Accurately

It is unfortunate that The Times contributed to the sensationalism surrounding the Banning High football team’s forfeiture to Dorsey. The newspaper should have been a source of accurate information.

On Oct. 5, The Times reported that shots had been fired inside the stadium at the Dorsey-Crenshaw game. The next week, The Times’ staff was informed of the actual origin of the shots. The writer acknowledged the error in his reporting. The facts were that it was a drive-by shooting on Rodeo Road near Jackie Robinson Stadium that occurred toward the end of the football game. The shooting was unrelated to the game. Regrettably, The Times repeated the same misinformation in its front-page article on Oct. 30, regarding the same story.

City high schools do an admirable job of providing safety and security at their sporting events. They do not need repetitions of inaccurate reporting. Our schools are done a disservice when sports reporters portray a well-supervised football game as the site of crime that occurred on a nearby boulevard.

RICHARD BROWNING

Division Administrator

L.A. Unified School District