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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 27, 1993                   TAG: 9303010227
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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A CONTEST WITH NO WINNERS

I APPLAUD your editorial of Feb. 3 dealing with Coach Vaught's conduct in the Richlands-Salem football game. A few other comments seem warranted.

The sad thing about this affair is that no winners emerge from it.

Richlands' championship trophy is forever tarnished. Their team worked hard and deserved better than to have their title held in question.

Salem deserved the opportunity to win or lose in a fair game. That opportunity was denied, and even if an arbitrary decision had later reversed the outcome, a deserving team did not prevail on the field on that given day.

But the biggest loser in this sorry tale (apart from Vaught) is clearly the Virginia High School League and its executive board. The group charged to help oversee matters of athletic competition failed to meet its responsibility to assure fair play and player safety. Equally, if not more incredible, was the board's criticism of White, an individual known for his personal and professional integrity.

If such judgments are the best that the VHSL is able to render, then that body needs serious and careful review, either by its own membership or by an appropriate agency at the state level. JACOB P. NEATHAWK SALEM

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