Letters

Minority Report

Thanks for Changing the Game (May 5), your feature on the growing influence of minorities in sports. As a 17-year-old Hispanic male pursuing a career in sports journalism, I have already realized the difficulty of even getting started in this business. This issue will keep my motivation and spirits high for years to come.
JOSHUA SANDOVAL, Solana Beach, Calif.

Although I admire many of the people you cited, as mayor of Trenton ( N.J.), I have just one quibble with your list: Philadelphia Eagles cornerback, NFL Man of the Year and Trenton native Troy Vincent should have been recognized. He has already done more to give back to his community than most of us will do in a lifetime.
DOUGLAS H. PALMER, Trenton

In 1968, when I was 14, SI published my letter in response to your seminal series The Black Athlete (July 1-29, 1968). I profusely praised your magazine for its insight and expressed a young boy's hope that I would one day live in a world in which race was irrelevant. Thirty-five years later, how sad that we must still inject the issue of race into almost everything. The 101 people you profiled are notable for their accomplishments and their pursuit of excellence. It is demeaning to them and puzzling to me that you feel compelled to place an asterisk on their collective resume by defining them as "minorities."
PAUL ALEXANDER, San Antonio

How could you exclude Nancy Lopez? She was the spark that gave women's golf respectability and national coverage.
ALBERT PADILLA, Alhambra, Calif.

...John (Buck) O'Neil, the first black coach in major league baseball, currently the chairman of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., and an inspirational speaker.
KIRK CARAPEZZA, Wayland, Mass.

...Former Georgetown coach John Thompson.
HOWARD KAUFMAN, McLean, Va.

...Gentleman, scholar, NFL Hall of Famer, athletic director at the University of South Florida: Lee Roy Selmon.
GEORGE E. STURDIVANT, Tampa

It's frightening that LeBron James could actually make your list at this early stage of his life, while athlete-actor-civil rights activist Jim Brown and Wachovia Securities deal maker and NFL draftee mentor Willie Lanier weren't included.
BILL FUTTERER, Raleigh

LeBron James is in a spot (101st) that should have been set aside for someone like David Robinson. I guess inflated ticket prices for a high school game are more influential than donating $9 million of your own money for the Carver Academy.
MATT McBRYDE, Abilene, Texas