Readers sound off on Anthony Weiner, the NFL and Tom Price

Readers sound off on Anthony Weiner, the NFL and Tom Price
In court (Jane Rosenberg)

Lay off Anthony Weiner already

Bronx: Am I the only one who feels bad for Anthony Weiner? It's obvious this man is sick and is suffering from an addiction, and because of this, he lost his marriage, his career, his reputation and now his freedom. This man has lost everything. This man is in pain. Yet everyone makes fun of him, teases him and calls him names and a loser. If an alcoholic fell off the wagon, do we vilify him and make jokes about him? Of course not. I worry for Weiner. When he goes to prison and hangs himself in his cell from all this psychological stress compounded by the daily degradation he receives, will the Daily News have a front-page picture of him hanging from a noose with a witty, sarcastic headline? You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Christopher Bilcik

Bellerose: Anthony Weiner goes to jail for sexting women. Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin are free as birds after erasing thousands of emails under subpoena. This is justice? John van Acken


We get it

Newtown, Conn.: Now that Anthony Weiner has been sentenced to jail, can the Daily News please stop with all the sly jokes, crude references and double entendres surrounding his last name? It shouldn't be hard. Rory J. Thompson

Making America Grate Again

Hamden, Conn.: If Trump's issue with the NFL really is about respecting the flag, then he could take the league to task for its violation of 10.176C of the United States Code, which states, "The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but aloft and free." There are any number of other displays of disrespect, per U.S. law, at an average football game. And if Trump wants to take on the NFL, he should confront it for its handling of the CTE and domestic violence issues. Deborah Brown

Saying grace

Woodside: I'd like to think that all the athletes when kneeling are thanking God for the opportunity awarded them to play sports in this great country and not disrespecting our flag and national anthem. Frances Houlahan

Kneeling is respectful

Bronx: The players chose to take a knee rather than sit, which would have been disrespectful. As a Catholic, upon entering church, I take a knee to genuflect glorifying the presence of God. Many a gentleman has taken a knee before asking a woman's hand in marriage. Kneeling has a long and significant biblical history. Gun owners have defended the Second Amendment with their dying breath. But when blacks and others exert their First Amendment rights, there is an uproar? Gilbert Lane

A hero rises

Florence, Ala.: I bought Alejandro Villanueva's jersey this morning. I am not even a Steelers fan. This young man has walked the walk. I stand by him. Why have professional athletes chosen to disrespect our country, anthem and flag as a means of protest? They risk nothing when they "take a knee" or hide in the locker room. Villanueva risked his life for these jokers' freedom to act like spoiled prima donnas. Barbara Nichols

Same old story

Brooklyn: The Voicers critical of those who support the NFL players standing against racism seem to me to be consistent with those who have historically opposed anyone standing (or kneeling) for justice in our country. I still have a memory of these people, including many of our country's leaders such as J. Edgar Hoover, attacking Martin Luther King Jr. when he led the movement against racism. Or John Carlos and Tommie Smith losing their medals when they raised their fists in opposition to American racism. Or Muhammad Ali, who said, "No Viet Cong ever called me n----r" when he refused to be drafted. They all eventually became heroes. And Colin Kaepernick will eventually be seen as an American hero by most. Lew Friedman

Their rights, period

Rego Park: I am surprised at all the uproar against the NFL and the players concerning kneeling, arm-locking, etc., during the national anthem. Isn't being able to peacefully protest one of the rights afforded to us by the Constitution? Weren't most wars fought to preserve the "American way of life"? So what if players and owners are kneeling during the anthem? That is their right. Yes, it is sad that American soldiers have had to die during these wars, but I am sure they realized it was for the betterment of the U.S.A. As for one Voicer's statement that athletes should help their communities, many do but they probably prefer to do so without a lot of fanfare. As for many other negative comments about the NFL, if you don't agree, stop watching the games, stop buying and wearing the clothing and stop following players on social media. Barry Chin


Let them do it

Kew Gardens: In a country where the last remnants of the KKK can still gather and spew their hate, we draw the line at professional athletes kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance? Is their kneeling disrespectful to the flag and nation? Certainly! Do they have this right? Definitely! The blame for this should be placed on the politicians, who have fractured this country into small groups for personal gain in the polling booths, and on the people, who fixate on minor issues such as statues and the flying of their own country of origin's flag. Jeff Pullen

Forward together

West Orange, N.J.: I wanted to comment on the article about Haroon Moghul speaking at the 9/11 Memorial ("First responders rip Muslim author's planned arrival at 9/11 site," Sept. 22). I am a 9/11 survivor who was on the 29th floor of tower one at the time of the attack. However, I have a different view of the world than the members of the 9/11 community interviewed for your article. I do not view the attacks as being performed by Muslims. I was attacked by horrific extremists — who unfortunately exist in every religion and nationality. I applaud Moghul for his courage to speak at an institution dedicated to the memory of 9/11 and encourage everyone to open their minds to combat hate and ignorance. If you walk around the two memorial pools, the names lost represent us all — Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and, yes, Muslims. Let's have an open dialogue! Wendy Lanski

Stop, frisk and save lives

Bronx: "Graveyard of overdoses" (Sept. 24) was a stunningly tragic and informative article. Noting Staten Island's disproportionately high overdose rate, is it not possible that the low, virtually nonexistent rate of NYPD stop-and-frisks in that borough is partly responsible? Pills and heroin might have been discovered, help given and lives saved. Vivian Edwards

People kill people

Greensboro, N.C.: In "To stop suicides, restrict gun access" (Op-Ed, Sept. 23), the authors point out that restricting access to guns can help reduce suicide rates. They state that more than half of the people who committed suicide between 2000 and 2015 used a gun. But there are many countries around the world with strict gun laws where suicide is still a huge problem. For example, the rate of gun ownership in Japan is very low — yet the suicide rate in Japan is higher than our own. Making a decision to commit suicide is not based on whether there is a gun present or not, it's based on personal and mental stress. It may be easier to commit suicide if there is an easy access to a gun, but it does not prevent it. Kritika Sedhai



Los Osos, Calif.: Adam was created before Eve. The male lion is the head of the brood and stronger and more aggressive than the female (ditto for most animals). The matador fights a Brahma bull, not a milk cow. It was Attila the Hun, not Priscilla the Hun. It was Charlemagne, not Charmaine. It was Alexander the Great, not Alexandra the Great. It was Norman the Conqueror, not Norma the Conqueror. King Kong, not Queen Kong. Men get in fights in bars while women fix their makeup in the rest room. Little girls play with dolls and little boys have rock fights. Kevin Moriarty

The Price is wrong

Bronx: In his official capacity, Tom Price, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, recently took more than two dozen flights on private planes that cost a total of about $400,000. He virtually acknowledged that himself when he told an interviewer that he would temporarily refrain from continuing that practice while his department investigates those outlays. What is there to investigate? What emergency could possibly require Price to get somewhere so quickly that using private jets would be justified? Miriam Helbok