WW welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to letters of 250 words or less. WW CAVALIER, SENSATIONAL We were disappointed but not surprised by Willamette Week's cavalier and sensational treatment of our son, Justin, who suffered a head injury in a junior-varsity, high-school football game in September ["Blood Sport," WW, Oct. 18, 2000]. The article states, without attribution, that Justin suffered the injury because he "crashed into an opposing player headfirst." Justin was involved directly in only one play during the game in which he was injured. He made the tackle on the opening kickoff. A careful review of the game film shows Justin made a good form tackle, with his head up. He is not a dirty player. The coaching staff at Putnam High School neither teaches nor condones head-first tackling. Justin told a teammate on the field that someone landed on his head after the play, and it caused a terrible headache. If true, this was a freak injury, not caused because he played what Willamette Week chose to call a "Blood Sport" in a banner headline in a type size more fitting for the end of a world war. In fact, far more teenagers suffer injuries similar to the one suffered by Justin in automobile crashes or bicycle accidents than on a football field. Parents who wish to protect their children from head injuries would be better served to leave on the training wheels or hide the car keys. God forbid they should climb mountains, the sport of choice of Dr. Randall Chesnut, the neurosurgeon who helped save Justin's life. The fact is, life is risky. You can curl up and hide while trying to avoid risk, but what a miserable existence that would be. Justin is a strong, young man, an honors student, and well-liked by those who know him. He chose to play football. We not only believe the choice was his to make, but that football has helped him survive this trial for the following reasons: --Justin suffered his injury at at time and place in which well-trained people knew instantly that he had a serious problem. He was in an ambulance, on the way to OHSU, moments after he left the field. This is an injury in which minutes, even seconds, matter. Had he flipped over the top of a bicycle and lain in the street for 10 minutes before an ambulance was summoned, he probably would not have lived. --Justin is in excellent physical condition, as are most athletes who play football. --As a football player, Justin has learned how to get up after being knocked down. The sport teaches discipline and how to work hard in pursuit of a goal. --Football players from all over the country are pulling with Justin for his recovery. We have letters and e-mails for as far away as Maine, Minnesota, Florida and Texas exhorting him on. While he was in intensive care, a poster for the Beaverton High School football team was taped to the wall facing his room. Members of the Lake Oswego team filed into his room, hugged us, and prayed over his bed. As we write this, a football signed by the entire Oregon State team rests in the corner of his room. These people are picking him up if he falters as he pushes through his rehabilitation. Finally, Willamette Week ran a picture of Milwaukie High School football player Josh Carlson with the story, and misidentified him as Justin. This knee-jerk approach to the subject does credit neither to the sport of football nor to Willamette Week's journalistic credibility. Ken and Christy Goe Milwaukie Philip Dawdy responds: First, we regret the misidentification on the photograph. Second, I did not intend to imply that Justin Goe is a dirty player or that Rex Putnam High School teaches or condones head-first tackling. WW did report, as did The Oregonian on Sept. 30, that Justin crashed into a Sunset High School player with his head down. A North Clackamas School District official also confirmed this report. Finally, we'd like our readers to know that funds have been set up to defray the Goes' medical bills and those of another injured player, Kris Tyacke. Drop off your donation at Key Bank for Justin Goe or at Wells Fargo for Kris Tyacke.