Dear Editor:

Isn’t it beyond belief that NASCAR driver Kurt Busch has been fined $50,000 and put on an extended period of probation for “verbally abusing” a member of the media?

Has there ever been a member of the media subjected to that kind of punishment, especially considering the frequency of their abuse? According to a news release, Busch had a confrontation with a Sporting News reporter June 2 after a Nationwide Series race. Apparently, the incident resulted from Busch responding in an implied threatening manner “because you ask me stupid questions.”

Whoa! How off-base and uninformed can this race driver be? Doesn’t he understand that it is the role of the media to ask stupid questions? And hasn’t he observed that our prominent politicians have set a precedent by always answering these dumb questions, regardless how mundane they may be?

Aren’t all the stupid questions that we hear daily in interviews by the press merely another prime example of the “dumbing-down of America?”

Wake up, NASCAR drivers, as well as fellow citizens – abusing the media is just another one of America’s latest travesties.

God bless America!

Richard Doran

Parachute