Casey Martin Revisited

It's interesting, day after day, to see how differently readers view the same event, newsmaker or issue. We have golf in common, but sometimes not so much else. Here are two letters in response to our story on Casey Martin My Shot in March. First, from Jack Boyet of Tampa:

From the article in the March 2008 edition, it's obvious Casey Martin still doesn't get it. The PGA's rule about walking was wasn't about him. It was about the integrity of the game and the PGA's ability to establish rules making the tour difficult but fair to all. Even in that story, he acknowledged that walking is the best way to play the game. Too bad he didn't come to that realization some years back. His comments regarding Democrats "being for the little guy" are ridiculous. This was not a "little" versus "big" guy battle. It was about someone who thought they deserved special treatment, and the PGA Tour disagreed. That the Supreme Court agreed with him was a travesty, but to imply that [Anthony] Scalia and [Clarence] Thomas betrayed their moralist and Christian beliefs in voting "No" is missing the point altogether. They voted to uphold legitimate rules. Has he ever heard of The Ten Commandments? And to suggest that Jack Nicklaus was pressured into testifying on behalf of the PGA is ludicrous. I doubt you pressure Jack Nicklaus into much at all. Get over it, Casey. And I hope your Oregon team wins the NCAA one day soon.

And then from Russ McCubbins of Lanesville, Indiana.

As I was reading your article "My Shot" on Casey Martin, I was thinking how I wish I could just get in touch with him and encourage him to go ahead with the surgery to amputate.  I can only imagine how he must feel with the idea of losing a part of himself, but I would like to implore him to see what he would be gaining in the process if he did.  Not only would he eventually be able to eliminate his own pain, he could potentially do the same by inspiring those who live with similar hardships, especially children.  They could see him competing on the highest level and realize that their own dreams may not be that impossible to achieve.  Every now and then you see  someone running a marathon with one of those hi-tech prosthetics (like the one that the young woman in the Lincoln MKZ ad in the beginning of this very magazine).  Although it would obviously require a lot of hard work, it would seem conceivable that Mr. Martin might live a more active lifestyle if he could be fitted with a similar device... However, even if he chooses not to, he will still have my respect and admiration for the courage and determination that he has previously exuded in his career and his life.

Wherever one stands on the Casey Martin the litigant, it's hard not to stand with Casey Martin the human being. Go Oregon golf!

--Bob Carney