Upon Further Review

The column last week on the firing of longtime Fort Defiance coach elicited plenty of comments via phone calls and e-mails. Some nice. Some not so nice.

One in particular caught my attention from someone calling themselves “formerfencer.“ I think Mr. or Mrs. Fencer completely missed the boat of what I was trying to say.

My comment has nothing to do with Coach Spitzer , he deserves respect and appreciation.  You sports editors who sit in your ivory towers and make yourselves judge and jury and convict Larry Landes without knowing all the details make me absolutely sick.  You slam the Fort community with gross generalities and do more damage to the school and it’s students with your inflammatory rhetoric than any action taken by the administration.  Suppose there are legitimate reasons for any coaches dismissal and suppose they are trying to protect the coaches privacy by saying no comment?  Would you prefer that the school system make public every reason regardless of the consequences?  Just suppose you people who assume you know exactly what’s going on in this situation are wrong?  Suppose there are legitimate reasons you will never know?  Suppose previous administrations at Fort failed to establish strict athletic guidelines and standards and now an administration with more character and integrity than you will ever appreciate is trying to make changes that many see as hopeful, not despairing.
Larry Landes is a gentleman of great character who has transformed Fort Defiance in two years to a school where the students and community are participating in more events, feeling more pride and striving to a higher level of character and performance than ever before.  Your oomments are totally out of line and any readers who take them as truth when none of us know the details and reasoning behind the decisions that were made are making a grave misjudgement.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

You sports editors who sit in your ivory towers and make yourselves judge and jury and convict Larry Landes without knowing all the details make me absolutely sick.

Robert Sisk is sports editor and he does not sit in an ivory tower. It’s a cubicle or, as the PC folks call it these days, a “pod.“ Don’t rope Robert Sisk into this. I, who wrote the column, have an office. It’s dark, it’s damp. It’s not made of ivory.

Who’s judging who here? The only thing we are pointing out in this column is that, after 25 years, the classy way to handle things is to prepare a statement that thanks coach Spitzer for 25 years of service. Sorry, but a no comment doesn’t cut it. (Take some aspirin, you’ll feel better if you’re sick.)

You slam the Fort community with gross generalities and do more damage to the school and it’s students with your inflammatory rhetoric than any action taken by the administration.

Gross generalities? Larry Landes fired Dale Spitzer. Dale Spitzer served the school he graduated from for 25 years as head coach. Instead of thanking Spitzer, the school decided it was best to say, “No comment.“ What generalities are you speaking of? If you mean our statement on some fans at Fort, well, do a Google search for Fort Defiance football game stories, read the comments. Or, when you attend a football game, listen to some of the fans in the stands. We’ll wait for your reply.

Suppose there are legitimate reasons for any coaches dismissal and suppose they are trying to protect the coaches privacy by saying no comment?

Um, saying “Thank you” for 25 years of service would damage the coach’s privacy? Explain this to me, please.

Your oomments are totally out of line and any readers who take them as truth when none of us know the details and reasoning behind the decisions that were made are making a grave misjudgement.

Sorry, but your oomments are out of line (whatever oomments are?). The only issue brought up in this column is where’s the thank you for all those year’s of service. Instead, the school tells us no “oomment.“

My comment has nothing to do with Coach Spitzer , he deserves respect and appreciation.

So he deserved it from you, but not from the school he was head coach at for 25 years? Seriously? And this makes any sense to you how?

Would you prefer that the school system make public every reason regardless of the consequences?

As a place where salaries are paid for by the taxpayers and a place where people entrust their children for hours a day, um, yeah, I think people have a right to know why things happen. Instead, we are allowed to let our imaginations run wild. They did with Terry Waters, the longtime wrestling coach Fort fired, where they said nothing and had everybody wondering what Waters did. Well, what if Waters didn’t do anything? What if Spitzer didn’t do anything? Not giving an answer is never the best route to take. Never. Ever. Sorry.

Fact: In less than six months, Fort Defiance has let two longtime coaches go.

Fact: The school provided answers for neither.

Fact: If you’re still in the area, if you still have kids at Fort Defiance, you should want answers. You should demand answers. I mean, it’s only your children at stake here, right?

Thanks for playing, though.

(The Pooch Punt will be off until Dec. 1. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to our readers. Yeah, we mean both of you)