Football Players’ Foul Language

Cal Thomas correctly complained about the obscene and vulgar conduct of some NFL players, particularly surrounding the conference title games (Commentary, Jan. 18). Athletic excellence does not entitle anyone to act boorishly.

To remedy this regrettable fallacy, all manner of allies should be enlisted. Perhaps the most powerful potential ally in this project would be found in sports shoe and apparel empires. If their CEOs declared that no endorsement contracts would be offered to individuals who behaved badly or to teams that tolerated such conduct, athletes would have a powerful incentive to clean up their language and their conduct.

Relatively weak coaches and adolescent owners have shown neither the will nor the temperament to control offensive behavior. Successful corporations that have profited so magnificently from American sports stars should act as responsible citizens and clean up this problem.

NEIL KRAMER

Los Angeles

* Thomas, as usual, misses the point. The problem with football-- and most sports--is not a few televised cuss words. The problem is violence. Football players are trained to be violent. After 60 minutes of mayhem, Thomas wants players to act prim and proper for the cameras. The real problem is that football is not the “healthy escape” Thomas thinks it is; it reflects, in organized and sanitized form, the violence of society.

But it’s much easier, and safer, to gnash teeth over naughty words than address systemic violence. This shows why it’s easier for conservatives like Thomas to blame welfare--or those on welfare-- rather than address the reasons why so many people are poor in our country. That would mean challenging the same plutocrats who own football teams! In both cases conservatives proffer Band-Aids for hemorrhaging wounds. And they never ask who the real assailants are.

TIM VIVIAN

Bakersfield

* Re “L.A. Weathers the NFL Drought Just Fine,” Commentary, Jan. 14:a

Frank del Olmo’s column, which discussed the greedy NFL owners who abandoned L.A., comes closer to mirroring thoughts of football fans than the columns by sports writers who have a vested interest in wanting a NFL team in our city. The plain fact is that L.A. fans will not support a mediocre team.

The departures of the Raiders and Rams were obviously driven by financial considerations. However, the outcomes of these teams in their new locations are predicted to be radically different. The Rams are strictly financially oriented, and as St. Louis fans will discover in a few years, because of lack of investment in players, the team will continue its losing ways. When attendance begins to fall off, the team will again look around for greener pastures.

The Raiders are a different story; their lack of success in L.A. was not due to the owner’s investment policy. Other factors came into play, which include the owner’s pride and arrogance. This prevented necessary changes in coaching and mistakes with key player personnel. And we believe that the Raiders will again rise to the top of professional football.

The cities that have successfully captured NFL teams are mostly small-city municipalities. People in those areas will pay several hundred dollars more in taxes to have an NFL team. Los Angeles residents will not. The prospect of a mediocre team coming to L.A. portends disaster for both the NFL and the fans. As Del Olmo pointed out, we can do very nicely without the NFL, which is rapidly becoming the Small Town football league.

SION COLVIN

Woodland Hills