Racism not addressed by Dolphin attacks

After seeing the commotion regarding Gary Dolphin's comments, I felt compelled to write this letter.

As someone who grew up and went to school with Gary's younger brothers and sisters, I can say with absolute certainty there is no racism in the Dolphin family. Are they passionate about sports? You bet they are. Are they passionate about the University of Iowa? Always. You would need to look long and hard to find a family that more exemplifies what it is to be an Iowan: hardworking, caring, always willing to lend a helping hand without fanfare or gain.

That's why the events of the last few days are so distressing. When a simple metaphor meant to portray the power and dominance of an athlete is mis-analyzed, inverted and dissected it deflects from the need to deal with real issues of racism and hate.

To anyone hurt by the events of the day, you have my empathy and compassion. The real issue of prejudice and bigotry remain to be addressed. Hypersensitivity does little to advance a solution to that problem.

Rob McNally

Cascade