Letter to LA Times from Gary Stevens...
 

Got this email a little while ago. Just thought I would share it.


After LA Times sports columnist T.J. Simers wrote two
very disrespectful articles about Barbaro and the industry,
Gary Stevens fired off a letter to the Editor in Chief.
His letter is pasted below.

Mr. James O'Shea
Editor In Chief
Los Angeles Times

Dear Mr. O'Shea

It is one thing to be labeled a provocative journalist and quite another to act as a rude, callous, insulting and uneducated sports columnist. Unfortunately, T.J. Simers seems to reside under the latter category.

I found it extremely appalling to read the article Mr. Simers penned in the LA Times titled "Grieving for Barbaro makes no horse sense", regarding the untimely death of Kentucky Derby Champion Barbaro. Even further disturbing to me is the fact that the LA Times would allow such an extremely unprofessionally researched piece to be published.

Simers compares Barbaro to a squirrel, asking "Tell me the difference right now between the furry bump in the road that was once a squirrel, and Barbaro today." He goes on to say, "I don't get this blubbering fascination with Barbaro." And you, Mr. Simers call yourself a sports journalist? Shame on you!

Let me teach you a thing or two about Barbaro, the oldest sport in the America, and the determination, heart and will that it takes to make a champion.

Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby which is one of the most prestigious sporting events in all of sports. He won it by an astonishing 6 1/2 lengths which was the largest margin in 60 years. He was one of only 18 horses in history to come into the Derby undefeated.

Barbaro's trainer, Michael Matz was an Olympic silver medalist who survived a plane crash in Iowa that took the lives of 111 people. His heroic measures led him to rescue three kids out of the burning crash and then return to a smoke filled cabin to save an 11 month old baby. Maybe this gives you an inkling of why America and the world has embraced this horse and his connections so fondly.

Simers refers to looking up the definitions of courageous and courage on dictionary.com. He should have looked up the words ignorance (the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge"), and arrogance ("offensive display of superiority or self-importance") while looking up the words, determination ("the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose"), will ("purpose or determination") and heart (the center of the total personality, the center of emotion, spirit, courage, or enthusiasm), all of which a champion is made of and which Barbaro and his connections have displayed to the utmost! He might want to make note for future reference that squirrel is defined on dictionary.com as a "bushy-tailed rodent". Please tell me and your readers where he was ever able to find a connection between the two!

As a three time Kentucky Derby winning jockey I find it more than insulting that he would write an article about our sport, the oldest in America with such total disregard to the facts and the loss of a champion.

Like Roy and Gretchen Jackson, the owners of Barbaro and the majority of the horse owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms, journalists and all involved in bringing the sport of horse racing to the public, most are in it because of the joy they derive from the sport and the passion, and love they have for the horse, not the money Mr. Simers thinks they receive from it. Only a small fraction of owners in the sport actually receive a return on their investments. Although I made a good living in the sport I risked my life every time I came out of the gate. I rode for the passion of the sport and as any athlete or champion will tell you the thrill of victory is what drives a champion to be his best.

If Simers had done his homework or paid attention to the champion athletes whose careers he has covered as a "journalist" over the years he would have never questioned the fascination in Barbaro or been able to write an article with such total disregard for the facts and what Barbaro meant to all of those who mourned for him at the time of his death.
I would like to think that a major market newspaper such as the LA Times would be concerned about the integrity or lack thereof of their "journalists." It is clear to me that by the firing of Simers by ESPN and all of the negative things I have read about him, I am just one of many who feel this way.
Gary Stevens
Sierra Madre, CA

I applaud Gary Stevens for writing that letter. Thank heavens he did. Very well written...

Hooray for Gary, I loathe Simers, he is lost in the thought that being outrageous is cool, when in reality he simply isn't passionate, intelligent or insightful enough to be a real journalist. He's the reason there are more horse's asses than horses. :mad:

Go Gary!

i've never been a big fan of gary stevens.
now - after reading that letter - i am.

Just became a Gary Stevens fan....Simers sucks(Malamud/Krikorian wannabe)

It made me think of that stupid article on Salon.com on Barbaro some months back. Why, oh why will news outlets publish pieces on racing written by people who know nothing about the sport? Good for Gary Stevens.

That's an.......
 

Outstandingly well written letter by G. Stevens, and I applaud him for writing it it. This Simers (Slimers sounds more appropriate), sounds like a real dirtbag! I haven't had the missfortune to read even one article of his, and doesn't sound like I've missed a thing!

you go gary! good for him, and for fans....

The L.A.Times Sports section is a shadow of its' former self:(

Good letter, Mr Stevens! Tell em!
If those of us that love everything about the thrill of racing, the jerks will just keep trying to jerk our chains.
Thanks for standing up and pushing back!

anyone who's ever lived in the LA area (the cesspool of america imo) and follows sports knows who TJ simers is. his sole purpose in writing anything is to be controversial, and anyone who takes him seriously is wasting their time.

the la times received more hatemail over tj simers than any other journalist on their payroll.

Well deserved mail at that! Don't know what your requisites are for the "cesspool" remark are, but we're not flooding,freezing,getting snowed in or having tornadoes,or suffering the hurricanes like most folks are,or sinking into the Gulf as New Orleans is. I hate ending a sentence with a preposition, but don't want to appear wordy!;)

That was awesome!!!!!

Good job Gary!!

i lived there most of my life. it has it's advantages, true.
it also has insufferable traffic. 2-3 hours to go 10-15 miles sometimes. you can keep that.
overpopulation
pollution
rude people (second to maybe nyc only!) that are completely unfriendly and distrustful. i was warned people in new england were worse, but i've found that people here in maine and new hampshire are very friendly and go out of their way to be helpful.
overpriced living expenses. what i paid for my house and 2 acres here in southern maine, i couldn't have bought half of my ex gf's closet in her condo.

when i fly into LAX, as i pass over the greater LA, which now sprawls in every direction (minus the ocean), i feel like i'm flying into a borg planet. all metal and concrete everywhere, with not a hint of green to be seen from the air. except, of course, one of the thousands of high school football fields.

IC: Most of your post has its good points...but,man,what freeway are you talking about, the 710,405? And the people...I've never walked into any place and felt uncomfortable...I look into their eyes and it's all good! Now, the freeways are another story, I will admit. And forget about buying a house or condo under half a mill..and that's in the bad parts! But you can't beat the weather, unless you're in Hawaii!

Here is something about Simers you may not know. T.J. is a minority owner in the most expensive quarter-horse purchased by Ed Allred in last year's yearling sales at Los Al. All of the profits T.J. makes on this horse(and it is obviously going to be eligible for every million dollar race at the track) will be going to the Mattel Children's foundation which helps pay for treatment for children with cancer.

T.J. is a dichotmony. His articles can be reprehensible at times, but he donates more time and money for children with cancer than any other columnist in Southern California. I am not defending the column on Barbaro, but there is another side to him that not too many people know about.

Simers is the same guy that had a thing with Jeff Mullins.

He quoted Mullins as saying if you lose at the track everyday, and continue to come back, then you are either an idiot or an addict.

Big thing over it. Fans were heckling Mullins at SA for weeks. One of Mullins big owners Robert Bones ( owned Choctaw Nation), was caught flashing the bird at the hecklers and the story lived again.

Simers Plays......he got into with Mullins over a Pik6 Ticket he lost on, and Mullins hadn't told him that one of his horse's had recent surgery and wasn't fit.

big hub-aboo for two weeks.

Simers getting another 15 minutes here.

ah...
see, i knew i had heard the name before. so he's the mullins reporter.

I have sincerely always liked Gary. I like him even more now. Barbaro is still with all of us!!!!!

"Thou he be little, he is fierce"

;) :D

Hey! New Yorkers are not rude! F*ck you!

LOL! Outstanding, thank you!

Do you know how they say F*ck you in LA?

Trust me

hahahahaha!! tooo funny!

So LA and Florida Speak the same language!

So.. maybe he's an ass so all the good people will rise up ?
no
he's just in it for the attention
if you can't be really good
be really bad

Thank you NYers are nice people

Bravo for Gary.

T.J. Simmers, Barbaro fans are not nuts for caring about a Champion or the well being of any other animal in distress.

The reason you get all the hate mail is because nobody cares for your work and there isn't much to like about what you present of yourself.:cool:

steve davidowitz also had something to say to simers:

http://www.trackmaster.com/retail/sd0207.htm

this is what makes america great though....... i think t.j sucks and cancelled the l.a times 5 years ago. plus, if i see him at santa anita i can tell him to go **** himself if i feel inclined;)

I use the L.A. Times for FISH WRAP on my boat. Thanks T.J.

and to think there were some that said there was no use for that paper:D

would you let him know that the **** himself comes from a whole group of folks here? would love for you to be a spokesman for us on that!

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...ck=1&cset=true

simers is upset now because he got hate mail--wonder if he's surprised, as his original column that brought the letters his way that he finds so offensive wasn't exactly a love-fest.