Regarding Steve Rosenbloom’s “The right man” item in his Aug. 5 column (Sports): I can only assume that the intent was to stir up issues in some lame attempt to be humorous. If humor was his goal–it didn’t work. I found Mr. Rosenbloom’s brief comments regarding Jessica Davis and rhythmic gymnastics to be insensitive, uneducated, unsympathetic, unfair and far from humorous.
Jessica has been the U.S. national champion for the past few years in a sport dominated by Eastern Europeans and judged with significant bias in their favor. If you had been at the Olympics, you would have witnessed remarkably beautiful routines by Jessica that were underscored because of political pressures within the sport.
The team received a silver medal at the Pan American Games and a silver medal in single apparatus at the Four Continents Tournament in Egypt in 1995. And even though they had no precious medal around their neck in Atlanta, they are truer Olympic champions than the Dream Team, or Carl Lewis, or Michael Johnson, who are professional athletes or will market themselves into millions of dollars. They rhythmic gymnastics team members performed in the true spirit of the Olympic Games–for the love of competition, the love of country and the love of sport.
You should apologize to our Olympic team: Jessica Davis, Challen Sievers, Aliane Baquerot, Mandy James, Becky Turner, Kate Nelson and Brandi Siegel.
