A Different Kind of Football Hero

The amazing article on Gary Freeman (“It’s the Spirit That Moves Him,” Sept. 5) was striking in many ways but especially as a repudiation of the paradigm that high school jocks are the elitists and bullies who treat lesser mortals with cruel disdain.

The sadistic treatment the developmentally disabled Freeman received was at the hands of fellow students, neighborhood kids, everyone in fact but the Pacifica High football team. The real hero, of course, is Freeman himself.

VICTORIA MULDER

Templeton

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Hooray for printing a positive story about Gary Freeman, a.k.a. Peter Pacifica. It is wonderful to read an inspiring story about a man who is successful against the odds, a disabled man who doesn’t lose faith. Freeman looks on the bright side and says, “I think it is a reminder that God cares for you. . . . It shows that He likes me very much. . . .” Well, I like Gary Freeman very much too.

ELIZABETH WISNER

Highland Park