Letters: NIL and the NCAA; Russia bullying Ukraine; Medicare woes and Mother’s Day

Pay to play

Since the NCAA has allowed NIL — name, image and likeness payments — to be accepted as a way to get young men and women to come play sports at some colleges, I feel it should be call NLA — no longer amateur.

It is pay to play, plain and simple!

Bye NCAA

A story in The Eagle (April 29) relates that NCAA President Mark Emmert is stepping down and that the organization is “restructuring.”

University athletic departments are far too influential in university affairs.

For example, athletic directors and coaches are paid far more than university presidents.

Athletics has become the tail wagging the dog. Correcting this may require eliminating the NCAA.

Few tears would be shed.

Tribalism at its worst

In 1986 while walking down a street in Zurich Switzerland I came across a circle of 30 people.

When I approached I saw two men fighting in the center of the circle with blood flowing from their mouth and nose.

Everyone was just watching.

Within seconds one of the men picked up and broke a beer bottle. I immediately walked away. Both fighters were larger than me. I was in foreign country; I didn’t speak the language or know the criminal laws. I was utterly helpless to stop what I saw.

Jump forward to 2022.

Now I’m just as helpless watching the entire democratic world stand by while Russia bombs and shells Ukrainian cities murdering countless defenseless civilians.

Homo Sapiens may be social animals that crave human relationships, but humanity seems to have just as innate an ability to allow atrocities without boundaries against others they don’t personally know.

Tribalism at its worst.

Perhaps those who fear Putin’s nuclear threats need to remember Martin Niemoller famous quote about not speaking out:

“Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Medicare and migrants

On April 21, The Eagle published an Op-Ed article by Sharon Hendrix which documented Ms. Hendrix’s struggles with obtaining needed medication from Medicare.

Anyone with an ounce of compassion would sympathize with Ms. Hendrix’s plight and would agree with her that the current Medicare medication situation is terrible.

However Ms. Hendrix also states that President Joe Biden has a plan to solve this problem by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of medication with drug companies.

It should be noted that it was, in fact, President Donald Trump who proposed multiple solutions to address the high cost of medication, including price negotiation, outlined in the “American Patients First” document, published in May of 2018.

As with most everything President Trump proposed, many Democrats refused to support this proposal.

It should also be noted that while Ms. Hendrix and other Medicare recipients struggle to afford their medications, while homeless American veterans sleep under bridges and on our streets, President Biden bears responsibility for opening our southern border and has allowed more than 2 million undocumented people to enter our country.

Driving Mom safely

To ensure the safety of the region, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 7, including Kansas, is working with law enforcement to raise awareness about the dangers of speeding.

This is part of NHTSA Slow Down Move Over; enforcement effort from May 6 – 8.

Speeding significantly reduces the driver’s ability to slow a vehicle when necessary or to steer safely around an unexpected curve, vehicle, or hazardous object.

NHTSA hopes that drivers keep their mothers in mind when visiting over the weekend.