Poor Colin

Regarding "SCORN IN THE USA" (Sunday Sports C3), sportswriter Brian T. Smith is pretty hard on San Francisco backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick for remaining seated during the pledge of allegiance and declaring afterwards: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”

And while Smith also rightly points out that Kaepernick's peculiar rage likely has more to do with the fact that he's an NFL has-been at age 28 than any new-found sense of social justice, he doesn't offer any constructive suggestions to resolve the issue.

Giving Kaepernick the benefit of the doubt,  I believe he should move to a country that is more accommodating not only of his political beliefs, but his football talents as well.

Colin, Canada beckons.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX

Third World Justice

Regarding "Brazil charges Lochte over false report", while much ado has been made about the actions of  American swimmer Ryan Lochte and his pals at a Rio gas station 12 days ago, there has been virtually no scrutiny of the behavior of Brazilian police, prosecutors and judges, not to mention the "security guards" who forced money from the swimmers at gunpoint.

The curious behavior of Brazilian authorities starts with the lack of an  investigation of the armed guards who robbed the swimmers.  After that were a series of patently false statements by the police that the swimmers had "destroyed the inside of a bathroom", which then changed to them "ripping a door off its hinges", subsequently reduced to "vandalism" of a piece of cardboard.

In retrospect, the bulk of Lochte's story turns out not only to be true, but verified by the video the police themselves provided.  Before the Brazilian authorities are allowed to further abuse American athletes, I believe they have some explaining to do, starting with why so many tall tales were told.

It's the least we should expect before subjecting any American to Brazilian "justice."

Pete Smith 

Cypress, TX

The Unanswered Question

Regarding "Clock Boy Returns" (Thursday Lifestyle Weekly), the article devotes five pages - including the cover - to telling us the doings of Ahmed Mohamed, the Irving TX boy who was arrested for bringing to school a homemade clock that looked like a bomb.

The article recounts in detail Ahmed's travels, his family and the effect of his celebrity.  It recounts the events leading up to his arrest and the aftermath, including reaction from all parts of society.  The article covers his opinions about nearly everything, and, incredibly, proclaims him to be black.

The only thing this kitchen sink of an article doesn't cover is the one thing I was interested in: his post celebrity science career.  The child was made famous by science when he built the clock.  What has been happening since then?

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX