Your sports section arbiter of morals, Rick Morrissey, delivered a pathetic apologia for lying and cheating in his Sept. 2 column. He found no reason to condemn the falsifying of a birth certificate by the father of Little Leaguer Danny Almonte, allowing the boy to play, even though ineligible.
Morrissey not only applauds, he justifies this illegitimate activity because it simply conforms to “Dominicans’ standards of making better lives for their families.” If I were a Dominican I would hardly welcome this feeble “defense,” and I would find it insulting to be smeared with this accusation. I cannot condone Morrissey’s impoverished justification of immoral behavior. It’s very simple, Rick: Lying and cheating are wrong. They are wrong everywhere, here or overseas, in or out of sports, no matter if the perpetrator comes from an impoverished upbringing.
Would Morrissey have us excuse Olympic doping, or point-shaving by an athlete because he or she struggled to survive in a ghetto or barrio? Sports biographies are brimming with uplifting and enriching stories of great (and honest) sports figures who overcame incredible obstacles without resorting to cheating or falsifying their records. Attempting to absolve these sins by saying it’s OK to lie and cheat is a terrible message to send to our young athletes already burdened with conflicting morals.
