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More heads besides
coach should roll at Cal
Re. “Suspended Cal swim coach defended,” Page A1, June 27:
Reading Thomas Newkirk give his defense of Tara McKeever, I can’t tell if he’s a misogynistic jerk or just a sleazy lawyer.
As I read his quotes I kept thinking of an accused rapist whose lawyer blames the victim for being raped. As someone who played under various coaches, I learned some are harsh and sometimes you just have to suck it up. But most of what I read in this case goes far beyond a little screaming and yelling.
Regarding his statement about Cal giving McKeever a new contract in 2020, I bet Cal turned a blind eye to McKeever’s actions because of her success. It’s amazing how shedding a little light on the subject, as Southern California Newspaper Group did, can get people to act very differently.
Other heads at Cal should roll over this.
Don Morgan
Concord
Probe may bring justice,
prevent future Sophias
Those who read every word of “Losing Sophia” (Page A1, June 26) have to have been impacted and will be for some time.
Because it’s a horror story that’s not supposed to happen in America the beautiful, land of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But, unfortunately, it is – more and more.
Thank you Mercury News and writer Maggie Angst for shining light on what journalism can and should show us. And thank you, Bay Area News Group for staying with it – for rooting out the extreme negligence that let this happen.
Alameda County’s Department of Children and Family Services has failed. Hopefully, aggressive investigation – and justice – can help prevent it from happening again, from losing any more Sophias.
Dan Dippery
Menlo Park
Without abortion, men
must take responsibility
If safe, legal abortion is to be eliminated, let’s at least shift the responsibility since it takes two to tango.
Women have borne the brunt of an unwanted pregnancy for centuries, often changing the course of their lives as choices and opportunities diminish. We now have DNA tests to accurately identify the father. Women, of course, will carry the child, and the father will support her throughout. At birth, the child is given to the father to raise. If the woman chooses to stay and help, she can.
Texas can decide the consequences for violations of this responsibility.
Susan Reichle
Jamestown
With abortion ruling,
life reflects art
Does anyone remember the movie “Love With a Perfect Stranger”? The 1963 film starred Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen, hardly lightweights in the Hollywood of their day. It would have been the typical romantic comedy offering except for its central premise — Natalie’s character was pregnant from a one-night stand with Steve McQueen’s character, and they spent much of the movie trying to arrange an abortion.
It’s an object lesson, in spite of itself, of the world of unwanted pregnancies. Granted, the obstacles encountered in the movie are dated, but they are reflected by the recent obstacles to legal abortion facing women today. For those who don’t understand that abortion will always happen — it will just likely happen under much more dire circumstances than were extant during the past 50 years — seeing this movie may increase their awareness of the plight that recent legislation and judicial decisions have wrought.
Marilyn Noble
Oakland
We must fight court’s
right-wing takeover
The Republicans have stacked the Supreme Court for years to come. The response needs to be equally courageous.
Repeal the filibuster, which the Democrats can do. Pass legislation to make Washington, D.C., a state. That would reinforce both the Senate and the Electoral College.
How else to fight the right-wing takeover of the Supreme Court?
Don Mahoney
Moraga
Global population,
poverty remain problems
If you are currently worried about abortion rights in the United States, you should be concerned about global poverty and the effect of global birthrates keeping people in poverty. Countries with high poverty also have bad sex education and bad health care, which means there is a high birthrate with no birth control or abortion services. This leads to more children per family, keeping the families with new children in a worse state of poverty.
If you are wondering what you can do to help global poverty, consider calling or emailing your congressional representatives or donating to organizations that support global poverty and work toward lifting communities out of this cycle of poverty.
There are things you can do right now. If you feel helpless, you can mobilize others to help as well.
Mello Wilsted
Oakland
