Officials made the right call on Chiefs’ JuJu tackle — they just explained it wrong
To the video
I have never disagreed with Sam McDowell before, but his column “Chiefs ticked about hit on JuJu, and they should be” (Nov. 15, 1B) calls for a response.
The officials in Sunday’s Chiefs-Jaguars game initially flagged Andre Cisco with unnecessary roughness for his tackle of JuJu Smith-Schuster but then revoked the penalty. McDowell wrote, “Cisco rammed his helmet into the head of the Chiefs receiver so hard that it prompted the ‘fencing’ response from Smith-Schuster, an indication he might have been knocked out.” The replay of a wide-shot video appears to show that, but a slow-motion replay of a close-up video taken from behind Smith-Schuster shows his helmet hitting the left side of Cisco’s helmet.
The officials made the right call but did not adequately explain it.
- Robert O’Rourke, Leavenworth
Why dissatisfied
I’ve noticed that Republicans seem puzzled that surveys show voters are overwhelming dissatisfied with the direction our country is headed yet this did not lead to the expected “red wave.” Why is that? I might offer one possible reason.
This question can be interpreted differently depending on your focus. I answered a couple of those surveys and, despite being a Democrat and a liberal, I answered that the country is not headed in the right direction — not because the Democrats are in charge, but because of the real dangers to our democracy presented by the Republican Party, especially within the states. Election deniers are unabashedly threatening to ignore the voters’ wishes, to overturn elections in their favor and even to install their own electors in presidential elections.
I don’t feel secure that our democracy is strong enough to withstand this attack. So that’s why we’re headed in the wrong direction.
- Frank Strada, Overland Park
Another way
I strongly believe that ranked choice voting is the best solution to the devastating political polarization we are experiencing.
Moderate candidates have a terrible time in our divided climate because of the limiting “us versus them” model of our voting system.
Ranked choice voting allows more than two opposing candidates to have a chance. A moderate third-party candidate could have success by being the overwhelming second favorite. The ranked choice voting system still allows people to lean as far one way or the other as they like, but it creates the opportunity for someone other than their least favorite to win if their first choice loses.
If you are as tired of our current head-banging as I am, I encourage you to learn more about ranked choice voting and ask your local, state and federal representatives for change. Visit fairvote.org for more information.
- Andrew McCarl, Stanley
Wrong royalty
New Royals owner John Sherman made some excellent needed changes on the field. After years of having inept and previously fired managers, a legitimate skipper will be in our Royal dugout. Upper management required new energy as well, instead of (Dayton) Moore of the same.
All the right organizational moves have been made by a fan of the game — except for Sherman’s proposal to build a stadium in downtown Kansas City. (Nov. 17, 1B, “Royals owner Sherman gives specifics on new ballpark”)
New is far from automatically better. Wrigley Field and Fenway Park have auras that bring history to life. There, renovations have modernized the ballparks enough without discarding their treasured identities.
Being in a “Field Of Dreams”-type venue like Kauffman Stadium provides a unique, picturesque atmosphere of baseball played in its purest form. Kauffman was made for America’s national pastime.
If a new $2 billion stadium were built, real blue-collar Royals supporters would pay for an unneeded extravaganza with higher ticket prices and luxury boxes for a few high-income fans. Another likely loss could be forsaking Ewing Kauffman’s name on the stadium.
Baseball in Kansas City is about to be turned into a new version of moneyball.
- Mike George, Springfield
It’s not magic
Royals owner John Sherman can do whatever he wants when it comes to the team and where it plays. But suggesting in his letter to fans that a new stadium would make the players better is just nonsense. Same field size, same player ability and same fans watching. It’s always about money — period.
- Rick Schultz, Independence