Bruins Still Under Fire for the Travails of Tanya

Tanya Harding would have drawn attention with her name and her great talent anyway, but it is cruel to sports and to its fans for Judith Holland of UCLA to say that she “doesn’t see what the big deal is.” Let me help.

1. Legitimate students were denied access to seats in Tanya’s classes so the softball team might excel.

2. The reputation of the university’s academics-first policy is further tarnished by a nodding glance at reality. Tanya had no intention of studying at UCLA and said so.

3. A whole bunch of great, NCAA-champion softballers who pulled on the same jersey as Tanya will always wonder how they would have done without her but within the spirit of the game. So will their fans.

TOM SLOSS

Fountain Valley

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Your articles about Tanya Harding fail to address the point that Division I athletics at California’s publicly supported universities consume scarce resources that should be used for education. In this case it escaped everyone’s notice that Harding was awarded admission to UCLA in order to play softball for one quarter while many qualified students who wish to get an education are denied admission because places are so limited.

GEORGE M. LEWIS

San Luis Obispo

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The UCLA associate athletic director was quoted as saying that she did not know what the big deal was about bringing in someone from another country to play softball for three months.

The answer is, of course, “If you do not know what the big deal is, you should not be an athletic director.”

F. JANSEN

Northridge

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It is ironic that in a year George Zidek capped a great full career with the UCLA basketball team, a foreign softball player shows up for games only.

JOSE M. DUENAS

San Pedro

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Whether it’s spelled Tanya or Tonya, it spells trouble.

DICK WILSON

San Pedro