Letter to the editor: Steigerwald's opinion on canceling sports

In his column “High school athletes don’t need Gov. Wolf to keep them safe” (Aug. 9, TribLIVE), Tribune-Review contributing writer John Steigerwald chose to cherry-pick information and give an opinion based on no attributable facts.

In a Sports news article concerning Gov. Tom Wolf’s “recommendation” that all high school sports be canceled this fall because of covid-19, he demeaned “His Excellency” because of his decision.

Steigerwald noted that the Independence Day celebration with President Trump produced “no spike in covid-19 cases.” This is true. He conveniently didn’t mention the Trump rally in Tulsa, Okla., which produced a spike of about 467 new cases over two days. Not to mention Herman Cain, who died of the virus about two weeks after attending that rally.

Lastly, he said that “kids don’t need the governor or anybody else to keep them safe from covid-19. They are in no danger. The data proves that.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t.

The data shows that nearly 100,000 children in America contracted covid-19 in the last two weeks in July, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. The new report signifies a 40% increase in cases among children.

Richard Dulemba

Washington Township, Westmoreland County