Surfer’s Beating
I too was surfing at Malibu the morning of Richard Ernsdorf’s savage beating at the hands of contestants of the Assn. of Surfing Professionals Oxbow World Longboard Championship (Oct. 7). I saw Ernsdorf bleeding on the beach and at the time assumed he had met with an accident in the surf. It never occurred to me that he had been beaten by participants in the contest.
Having spent my entire life surfing in California, I am shocked but not that surprised by this incident. “Professional” surfing has created a whole group of money-hungry surfers who have completely lost sight of what the sport is really about.
Perhaps Malibu will now seriously consider the elimination of these silly contests that tie up public access to our beaches.
BILL BROWN
Los Angeles
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
