By admin 
To the editor: Sports (especially football) are not special in teaching young people how to work in groups, how to interact with others or how to respect the rules. (“Football is not just violence. It is the schoolhouse of democracy“Opinion, December 22)
Debate teams, drama clubs, chess clubs, science clubs, robotics clubs and many other group activities teach the same thing. The big difference? None of these activities are based on any form of violence.
The lionization of football is a sad commentary on the United States. Perhaps opinion article authors Frederick J. Ryan Jr. and James Washington didn’t read why football became such a big deal. Simply put, it perpetuated white supremacy, violence, and religion (traditionally, football teams pray for victory before games, as if it were divine concern who wins) at a time when American exceptionalism was inextricably linked to these values.
The US and the world will not lose democracy if people stop playing football. There are many other youth-oriented activities that do a much better job as a ‘schoolhouse’ of democracy.
Michael Lampel, Granada Hills
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To the editor: The piece on football is the best I have read in The Times recently. The writers lay it all on the line and say that we need sports like blood in our veins – to compete and give it our all in a controlled environment.
My grandson played Pop Warner youth football for the first time this season. The experience changed him and made him realize the values of team play and hard work. Every time I saw him and his team play, tears of joy welled up in my eyes. And his coaches are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.
Chet Chebegia, San Marcos
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.