LETTERS
Hawk's remarks piercing to folks in Heart of Dixie
To the sports editor:
Joe Hawk must be a mean-spirited individual, as evidenced by his column mocking Alabamians with a bunch of lame lines regarding how NASCAR Nextel Cup's Jeff Gordon was treated last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway ("Rants & Raves: Alabamians throwing beer cans at Gordon akin to marrying your kin," May 1). OK, his one line about toilet paper not being sold in Alabama did make me chuckle.
Bad behavior is not limited to Southerners. Did Mr. Hawk look at anything that happened at the race in his hometown two months ago? I bet arrests were made there, too, for fan misbehavior.
Andrew Bessman
BIRMINGHAM, ALA.
To the sports editor:
After reading Joe Hawk's column slamming Alabama and last weekend's Talladega race incident of beer-can throwing, he might be interested to know six of the 12 people arrested were not from Alabama.
Fans attending a NASCAR race are not all from the state where the race takes place.
Mona Robertson
ANNISTON, ALA.
Supporters of Gladiators aren't fair-weather fans
To the sports editor:
Everyone is disappointed by how poorly the Gladiators have played through their first nine games. But for Joe Hawk ("Rants & Raves," May 1) to say fans who still attend games must not have a life is a new low for him.
Mr. Hawk always has taken the low road when it comes to anything about the team and league. We "Gladiaddicts" will continue to have a great time supporting Las Vegas' only pro football team.
When I was a child, I went to Arrowhead Stadium to support a terrible Kansas City Chiefs team every week in a 75 percent-empty stadium. Then the franchise started winning home games in front of a constantly packed house.
I was proud to say I stuck with the team when few others did. I'm equally proud to be the founder of the Gladiators' booster club during these lean times.
Max Maddux
To the sports editor:
Mr. Hawk made the statement that Gladiator fans have no life. Yes, the Gladiators are not doing well, but for a true fan of the game of football, does that matter? We are there to support our team.
Slam the team, Mr. Hawk, but not the fans. You do not have the right to do so.
Ron Love
'Pacman' doesn't deserve ghost of a chance in NFL
To the sports editor:
I see in Time magazine that Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones took out a full-page ad in Nashville's newspaper to apologize to his teammates and fans for his misconduct, promising to "do everything in my power to regain your trust and respect."
How many chances does this repeat offender think he's entitled to? Since Jones was drafted in 2005, he has been arrested five times. And in the last instance, he allegedly incited a fight that resulted in a shooting.
Jones should be banned from pro football for life -- immediately and without appeal. Enough! We need a czar in pro football with the power to act decisively and promptly, guided by near-zero tolerance for this kind of outrageous and unconscionable behavior. Every pro football player should understand he has a responsibility for his behavior and to the sport.
Louis C. Kleber
The Review-Journal welcomes letters from its readers. Letters should be 150 words or less and must include the author's name and phone number. Send letters to: Letters to the Sports Editor, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070. Letters also can be e-mailed to: jhawk@reviewjournal.com.
