A recent article on the decline in the number of high school officials ("Help wanted," July 28) suggested that "sportsmanship issues" are making it more difficult to retain and recruit, but there is another side of the problem that was missed.
The Minnesota State High School League has made it increasingly difficult to become an official (and, in many cases, to continue to officiate) by eliminating the annual area meetings to instruct and review rule changes in each respective sport and replacing them with a mandatory, all-day session. Many prospective or existing officials have jobs that prevent them from attending; others who are retired (such as me) are not in the state at the time of the all-day meeting. After a year of probation for not attending, we are eliminated from officiating for not attending.
I have been a high school coach, have been a registered official in six sports for more than 50 years and have enjoyed working at all levels, including state tournaments. In those years I can count on one finger the number of sportsmanship situations involving fans, coaches, players or parents. My very difficult decision to discontinue officiating was not due to sportsmanship but to the MSHSL's decision to eliminate the online attendance for rules interpretation. I will miss officiating very, very much.
Bill Adams, Wadena, Minn.
KILLING OF CECIL THE LION
Thinking of all the ways animals suffer and die at our hands
The outrage over Walter Palmer's killing of Cecil the lion has left out one of the most important aspects of the "hunt." Killing "moose, deer, buffalo, a polar bear and a mountain lion" with a bow is a slow, painful process. The razor-sharp tip of the arrow is designed to penetrate the game and cause it to slowly bleed to death. The animal's first response to being struck by the arrow is to run. The animal instinct is to run as far as possible and find a place to hide. It lies down and, if hit in a vital area, it dies. This can be hours or, in Cecil's case, days. Or it may have been hit in a nonvital area and live. The hunter follows the blood trail and hopes he can retrieve the carcass. This doesn't always happen. The animal may never be found.
This type of big-game hunt should be outlawed. A sport predicated on a slow painful death is cowardly at best. I know bow hunters will be angered by this. They should step back and see the big picture. If you can't dispatch an animal in a humane way, you should rethink your "sport." Palmer deserves all the anger directed at him. To kill rare animals in this manner is contrary to all of the ideals of a true sportsman.
Darrell Brandt, Golden Valley
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While we feel superior by lambasting and threatening Walter Palmer, let's examine our own role in the cruelty of animals. Ninety-seven percent of the 10 billion animals tortured and killed each year are from farm factories.
Most of us buy cellophane-wrapped meat without thinking about or doing anything to prevent the horrific way these animals are raised and slaughtered.