In football, a diva dad could be disqualifying
Manhattan: Unfortunately, it has become a common practice that when people do not have all the facts, lack logic or just get it wrong, they play the race card. Cary Goodman (“Why the NFL fumbled the Sanders draft,” op-ed, May 4) was 100% off-base to claim that racial motivations resulted in Shedeur Sanders going so late in the draft.
Sanders was a good college quarterback, but he was not great. His stats were good for a good team in a good conference, the Colorado Buffaloes, where his dad Deion is the coach. But the Big 12 is no Big 10 or Southeastern Conference. Even the Jets and Raiders passed on Sanders and chose to cultivate Justin Fields and Geno Smith. So, let’s address the elephant in the room concerning this young man’s backhanded selection to the Browns: his father. You draft Shedeur, you draft Deion. And with Deion, you get parental interference like the world has never seen.
NFL offenses are intricate machines comprised of coaches, scouts and a playbook the size of a Manhattan phone book. Millions of dollars are spent to create a culture and build game plans. Hundreds of hours are dedicated to an offensive coordinator’s system. The last thing any franchise wants is a media hound telling a staff of paid professionals what pass routes to run or how to protect “my son.” And contrary to Goodman’s assertion, Archie Manning never called Kevin Gilbride in the middle of the night to tell him how Eli should be played.
The potential for a father second-guessing a system to benefit his son loomed way too much for any franchise to have to deal with. Bottom line: There was no racism here. Deion did it. Louie Russo
Diploma’s the difference
Avon-by-the-Sea, N.J.: Please inform Leonard Greene (“Just give them a break!” column, May 4) that Bronny James went to college for one basketball season but dropped out for the draft. On the other hand, Shedeur Sanders did graduate. There is a major difference between going and graduating. Congratulations to Shedeur for graduating. Robert Stiloski
Displeasing diction
Spotswood, N.J.: Steven A. Smith for president? That’s hilarious! The man can’t even pronounce the simplest of words correctly. He says “da” instead of “the” and “dis and dat” in place of “this and that.” His English teachers must be so proud. But then again, by today’s standards in the Democratic Party, it would probably not preclude him from running for president. Tom Scott
Call in the debt
Williamsburg, Va.: President Trump told the Department of Education to make 43 million Americans who have student loans, of which only 38% are up to date on payments, pay for those loans. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been given to bad actors and fraudsters. Payment will be made by garnishing paychecks, etc., and payments, or lack thereof, will affect credit scores. It’s about time these freeloaders pay up so the American people are not taken advantage of. John Lemandri
Low bar
Bronx: Former Vice President Mike Pence received a Profile in Courage award for upholding the Constitution that he swore to uphold. The award is named for JFK, uncle of the anti-vaxxer and secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (RFK Jr.) appointed by our felon president. How far we have come in 250 years. Donnell B. Russell
Despotic desire
Staten Island: Trump wants a parade with tanks, helicopters and missiles. What!? Did I just wake up in 1950s Soviet Russia? Is he President Trump or, as he liked to call Kamala Harris, “Comrade” Trump? Mark Tarasiewicz
Heretic
Brooklyn: It’s disgusting what Carrot Top is doing, flaunting a picture of himself dressed as a pope. Pope Francis should slap and pull his legs tonight. Carmen Lugo
Monarchical
Mamaroneck, N.Y.: Could this be Trump’s surreal version of the Declaration of Independence? “Dear King George, we want to preserve our union with you. With respect and love, Donald J. Trump.” Paul Matthews
Opportunistic outrage
Bronx: To Voicer Saul Rothenberg: As I wrote in my letter, the indisputable facts are that the mother knew she was in the country illegally and that she could be deported, and Trump was elected overwhelmingly with a decisive mandate to enforce immigration law. If the ACLU and the woke, leftist corporate media were truly concerned for the health and welfare of the cancer-stricken 4-year-old American citizen, they could have immediately arranged for his return and gotten him back into treatment before filing lawsuits. They would have been heroes. The government would have rightly been condemned if it didn’t expedite his return. But this child is clearly being used as a tool to advance the left’s anti-Trump political agenda and to blur the lines of the constitutional separation of powers in an effort to establish the judicial branch’s authority over immigration, which is solely the function of the executive branch. Charles T. Compton
Cross-border incentive
Central Islip, L.I.: The Trump administration wants to pay illegal immigrants to “self-deport.” Baloney! This will only encourage more to illegally come into this country knowing they will get paid to leave. Hey, Trump, how about paying legal, taxpaying citizens to stay here? Thomas Sarc
Keep the cost down
Brooklyn: Re “Good politics in bad rent freeze” (editorial, May 2): Mayor Adams’ Rent Guidelines Board just voted to hike rents up to 7.75%, siding with landlords over the 2.4 million rent-stabilized tenants struggling to stay in their homes. It’s time to freeze the rent. A freeze would save tenants nearly $7 billion, or $600 a month. That’s money we could be using for groceries, medication and child care. Adams’ board is out of step with reality. Landlord incomes are up 12% while tenants can barely afford the basics. A rent freeze isn’t just urgent, it’s popular. New polling found that 78% of New York voters support it. Tenants are the majority in New York. And we vote. Thousands of tenants are committed to only voting for a mayor who will freeze the rent. Homes should be for rest and family, not unlimited landlord profits. Cea Weaver, director, New York State Tenant Bloc
Staying put
Brooklyn: The Sanitation Department has a problem with people not moving their cars for alternate-side parking. It doesn’t issue tickets, and people knowing this don’t move. They say it’s a problem but do nothing! Maureen Deman
Political identity
Margate, Fla.: To Voicer Nick Smith: You should study the words of Zuheir Mohsen, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and a military commander of the PLO, who declared “the Palestinian people” to be a propaganda invention. In a 1977 interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw, Mohsen said: “The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism.” Richard Sherman
Out with the old
New Hyde Park, L.I.: With all the hefty campaign contributions Andrew Cuomo is getting, one must ask if these donors have paid attention to the mishaps and disasters the disgraced former governor caused or if the candidates for mayor are just so dreadful that they feel there is no better choice for their money. Either way, these donors, particularly unions and billionaires, perpetuate the toxicity that has infiltrated our city’s political world, giving its citizens little hope for a better municipality and life. As the most populated city in America, surely we can do better than putting up misguided and horrendous candidates who invariably bring new scandal to our city, not to mention continuing the myriad problems that plague our boroughs. We don’t need to settle for the old, blundering politicians. Donors would do better by using their money to cultivate new and honest politicians who serve the people. Tamara Balin
