LETTERS; JUST WONDERING ABOUT A YOUNG ATHLETE

To the editor:

Though the news of Peter Warricks arrest is now old news, the sadness of what might have been still lingers with me. Warrick is a college athlete and was favored for the coveted Heisman trophy. Though he is talented and gifted, a childish prank at a department store cost him his future.

The story, as run in our local newspapers, has me wondering. I wonder if this was his first brush with the law. I wonder if he had previous offenses, perhaps not something to make the headlines, yet something that merited disciplinary action. I wonder if anyone sat him down and said, "You're an athlete representing our school and we're going to hold you to a higher standard."I wonder if school personnel weighed his talent and the potential loss to a post-season appearance and decided to let an incident slide. I wonder if judges and lawyers decided that a first offense was worthy of nothing more than a strong warning and probation. After all, he's a good kid from a good Christian family. I wonder if anyone monitored his friends or what he did late at night to make sure he was not influenced in negative ways.

I wonder too if the people who knew him as a high school student and taught him in the church youth group don't have a sense of guilt for the way they let him down as they coddled and protected him from the consequences of his actions. I wonder if anyone sought to help him or if anyone volunteered to mentor him in a positive way. I wonder just how far someone with Warrick's talent could have gone had it not been for a foolish prank.

Sadly, these events are not limited to atheletes, and it's unfair to single them out. These problems occur in every group of our society. And even good kids make mistakes early in their lives. I wonder if we don't do them a disfavor by not enforcing discipline in our schools and respect in our families. I wonder if anyone is still interested in the future of our youth to take strong stands and enforce what is right.

The thing that amazes me is that, when headline-making events happen, we sit around and wonder how good kids can do such harmful things. As these tragic events continue to occur around our country, I wonder if we will learn to do the right thing for the sake of our children and for the sake of their future.

I don't know all the facts and details of the life of Peter Warrick, but, then again, I was just wondering ... .

The REV. GRANT F.C. GILLARD

First Presbyterian Church

Jackson