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0ICES
Letters to the editor
By the rockets' red glare
In regards to Michael Rigdon's letter in
the May 12 issue, I would like to refute
the obvious bias of the writer. Let it be
understood that in no way am I condoning the action taken by Jeff Matiasevich
after his altercation with Larry Ward at
the Indianapolis Supercross. However, it
should be understood that before Jeff
knocked Larry off his bike, a few expletives were exchanged beneath the helmets of both riders, giving Matiasevich
the impression that Ward took him out
intentionally. Unfortunately, the heat of
the moment caught Jeff and Larry in front
of 40,000 spectators, none of whom heard
the exchange of words between the two
riders. After clearing things up with
Larry, Jeff admitted he was wrong, apologized, paid a small fine, and took a ton of
public humiliation.
Michael Rigdon should appreciate that
had he been involved in a similar altercation, his actions might be judged merely
by five or six spectators standing near
that comer. It's much simpler to explain
your actions to a few witnesses than it is
to do so before an entire stadium and TV
audience. These guys are under a lot of
pressure, and sometimes adrenaline and
emotions get the best of them. It's unfortunate that a guy like Mr. Rigdon publicly
expresses his opinion when in his letter
he judges Jeff by the way he wears his hat
and jokes with his friends.
Steve Weider
Yorba Linda, CA
P.S. Mike, next time you pit next to
Jeff, say hello. Youll be surprised to find
him a much nicer person than you've
portrayed him to be.
The way we interpreted it, Rigdon was
disappointed to see Matiasevich joking with
his friends and not removing his cap while the
national anthem was being played. If that's
what Rigdon meant, he had every right to be
disappointed...Editor.
Dual sport IT
White Bros. is to be commended for promoting the annual Four-Stroke MX and
TT Wot1d Championships. Along with a
bunch of other dual sport riders, I rode
the TT on Saturday and I cannot tell you
how much fun it was. I think a lot of dual
sport riders are like me - we don't want to
go out and beat ourselves up anymore.
When Team Dual Dogs first proposed a
dual sport TT class, I was a bit leery. At
first I thought that it was against the concept of dual sport, Le. no racing, but after
racing I change
