CARRYING A TORCH FOR JIMMY CARTER

Anita DeFrantz may well be the most powerful woman in sports (“She Lives and Breathes The Games,” by Randy Harvey, June 30), but she looked pretty small during her recent vendetta to prevent Jimmy Carter, a great president and one of the persons instrumental in bringing the Olympics to Atlanta, from having the honor of carrying the Olympic torch for a mile or so.

Lawrence D. Longo

Redlands

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I disagreed with DeFrantz’s stance opposing the boycott of the 1980 Olympics and her recent objection to Jimmy Carter’s carrying the Olympic torch in his home state of Georgia.

Furthermore, it’s worth recalling that it was DeFrantz who, during the 1984 Games, successfully opposed the showing of the film “Gone With the Wind” to the athletes in the Olympic Village because she considered the movie unacceptable and inappropriate. That’s not leadership, that’s arbitrary censorship.

Sidney A. Adair

Los Angeles

Thanks for the wonderful DeFrantz article. We rowers are delighted to get a bit of recognition and respect now and then. And anyone wishing to participate in our noble sport can contact UCLA’s Marina del Rey aquatic center.

One observation, however: The seventh seat is in the stern [back] of the boat, not the bow [front], as was indicated in the text.

M. B. Nachman

Venice