It was with some degree of
disgust that I read Friday's
letter and editorial comment
concerning the "crass
commercialism" associated
with the "Mr. B.P." publicity.
As is often the case in your
newspaper, both the letter and
the comment reflected an
ignorance of facts both of the
situation as it exists and of
basketball in general.
Those who have been active
in promoting postcards,
bumper stickers and records
have not been doing so for any
commercial purposes; indeed,
they will probably lose money
in the process. They have acted
for several reasons: interest in
helping Barry earn the
All-American status he deserves
(as your comment aptly
pointed out), a genuine liking
for Barry, his attitude and
contribution to the school, and
a real joy and pride in the
team's success and what it has
meant to the community after
many years of draught.
If many of you
sophisticated collegians find
this "sophomoric" or "silly",
please recognize that there are
many of us "kids" under 17
and over 25 who love every
minute of it. Please humor us!
Probably the worst offense
of all came with your comment
encouraging Mr. Parkhill's
avoidance of 10 point games.
As anyone who follows
basketball knows, no one
consistently shoots 20 point
games. When a player plays
three games in one week and
scores more than 20 points in
two out of those three, that
comment appears a bit
ridiculous.
And to imply that Barry
Parkhill doesn't give 100% to
everygame is both cruel and
absurd. I hope in the future
you will consider the effect
this type of thoughtless
comment can have on a player
and even on the outcome of
future games.
S. Richardson
Instructor, Nursing
