To the Editor:
Is anyone in New York state paying attention? We are turning our backs on the youths of our communities to save $1.5 million. To charge families of our student athletes $285 to participate in the Empire State Games is downright criminal. Pay attention: The taxpayers of New York state are financing hundreds of millions of dollars ($1.5 billion) to give, on a silver platter, to the multimillionaire owners and multimillionaire players, a new Baseball stadium.
Pay attention: On Jan. 2, these teams (the Yankees and the Mets) requested an additional $450 million in taxpayer money. Less than two weeks later, in The Post-Standard sports section, it was reported that the Yankees signed three, yes three, players for contracts totaling $423 million! It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a CPA to figure out who is footing this bill!
The Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte is whining about the "insulting" offer of only $10 million for a one-year contract! Unbelievable! Something is very wrong with a society that refuses to invest in its youth while taking money from struggling families to finance the super-rich.
In closing, for anyone who has been fortunate enough to witness any of the Empire State Games (especially the opening ceremonies), I'm sure they would agree that these games are every bit as much an educational experience as they are an athletic event, providing lessons and memories for these student-athletes to carry with them the rest of their lives.
New York state taxpayers ought to be organizing a "tea party"!
Rick Burke
Fabius
