Readers Write: Derek Chauvin trial, George Floyd Square, trans athletics, Gopher hockey

Derek Chauvin's attorney is concerned about the financial settlement that Minneapolis made with the family of George Floyd. He's concerned that it might affect the presumption of innocence. Pardon me, but ... what? Yes, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. But we have all seen the video that shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck while Floyd pleaded for his life. We know that Floyd died, and we know that Chauvin had been interacting with him in a detrimental way until then.

If there ever was a case in which I cannot presume innocence it is this. The only question in my mind is, "Of what crime was he guilty?" Guess it's lucky I didn't get called for jury service.

I hope the Minneapolis City Council, prosecutors and mayor are ready for the possible ramifications of announcing the record $27 million payout ("Settlement unsettles Chauvin trial," front page, March 17). By announcing money sums now, all elected officials involved may have successfully biased the jury, prolonged the trial, ramped up court costs, delayed outcomes and added even more doubt in what should be a fair trial. All the while, shots ring out at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue with no news conferences until Wednesday or relief for residents.

Twenty-seven million dollars for the Floyd case. Twenty million for Justine Ruszczyk Damond. The city burned, looted and not rebuilt. The intersection in front of Cup Foods renamed George Floyd Square and turned into an autonomous zone. Potential jurors for the Chauvin trial cannot even be interviewed without protesters gathering. No matter the outcome of the trial, we know that we are going to see more riots.

I can't understand why Target is pulling out of Minneapolis.

I was deeply sorry after reading Monday's front page article about George Floyd Square ("A cry for help as violence plagues 38th and Chicago"). The frustrations are real for the hardworking business owners who are losing business as well as for the hardworking people who are holding the space at the square, just trying to have their voices heard.

City officials could have avoided this unfortunate situation if they had just listened to and worked with the people in the neighborhood surrounding the square this summer.

Minneapolis had the chance to show the world, which was watching, how to respond to the cries of the neglected who want the same things all humans want: safe streets, affordable housing and decent jobs. Our city government could have shown off that great Minnesota willingness to work for good.

I believe there is still time to work for good here. Let's give understanding and respect a try and show what we are made of here in this great state and city.

P.S. The price tag for improving the neighborhood around the square is far, far less than the $27 million settlement for the killing of Floyd. While I don't begrudge the Floyd family the settlement, I'd really rather my tax dollars were used for the common good of my fellow Minneapolitans.

Recently the Star Tribune featured two searing indictments of Minneapolis city government with regard to the continuing blockade at the corner of 38th and Chicago: one on Monday from business owners, the other from a neighborhood resident ("Revolution by day, devolution by night," Opinion Exchange, March 16). Both indictments were also cries for help.

No one will deny the need to acknowledge and memorialize the tragic death of George Floyd. But a memorial becomes a travesty when the site becomes a free zone for violent criminals, terrorizing neighbors and crippling local businesses.

To them I say: If you cannot provide residents and businesses with basic services and security, you do not deserve to govern. You are the embodiment of municipal dysfunction; you are fostering lawlessness; you are part of the problem. Let's hope the Charter Commission has the courage to address some of the underlying structural issues driving your collective failure to act. But in the meantime, this is not only a structural issue — it is a moral issue. How are you going to respond — in the immediate present — to these sad facts from the neighborhood?

I read with dismay the March 17 opinion piece titled "Proposed anti-trans legislation is inhumane" in which the authors assert that transgender athletes have no physical advantage over either sex in athletic performance. Clearly, the authors have never attended a track and field meet where the winning times for running events show a stark difference between males and females. In the 800-meter run, for example, where a mere 3-5 seconds might separate first from third place, a middle-of-the-pack male runner will easily be faster than the fastest female by 10 seconds. In fact, in virtually every running event from sprints to distance, males are almost without exception faster in each. And the differential only continues through college and even Olympic-level competition. Other endurance sports are equally affected.

I endorse efforts to ensure equality for transgender people but, in athletics, there is a limit. Males have an undeniable physiological advantage in muscle structure and testosterone. If athletes assigned male at birth but identifying as female are allowed to compete with females, they should be identified as transgender or limited to competing with their birth sex.

Way to bury the lede in the Sports section of the March 17 issue of the Star Tribune. The Gopher men's hockey team wins the Big Ten Tournament over one of its biggest rivals and you choose Richard Pitino taking the job at New Mexico as the top story. To Mr. Pitino, goodbye and good riddance. To Bob Motzko, his staff and the entire team, congratulations and Ski-U-Mah!