Letters to the Editor | Jan. 27, 2023

Gwen Knapp, the former Inquirer sportswriter and editor who died Jan. 20 of lymphoma at the age of 61, was easily the smartest person I have worked with in 42 years in the news business. I swear you could hear the crackle of electricity when she got fired up. Gwen, who grew up in Wilmington, was dedicated, painstakingly accurate, and extraordinarily focused — I remember her chewing on her long, wavy red hair on deadline — but she was also generous, funny, and kind, with a kooky laugh that sort of popped out of her mouth. Everybody who knew her had at least one Gwen story. My best, I think, is quintessentially her.

Before she became an elite sports columnist in San Francisco, she left her mark here. The sports editors assigned both of us to help cover a Phillies’ doubleheader at Veterans Stadium against the San Diego Padres on July 2, 1993. It was Fireworks Night, with a crowd of nearly 60,000 expected. It was a typical Philly July day: hot and sticky, thunderstorms likely. I’d told the editors that I had plans for later that night, so I was sent to write a pregame story. I got lucky. The Phillies, who’d go to the World Series that fall, were in a slump. Darren Daulton, the late catcher, held a players-only meeting. I reported the story, sent it to my editors, then left. Late the next afternoon, a Saturday, I walked into The Inquirer’s musty old sports department in the white tower on North Broad Street for a night-rewrite shift. Gwen was there.

“Hi, Dave!” she said, scrambling from one desk to another.

“Hi, Gwen,” I said. “Wait. What are you doing here?”

“Oh,” she said. “I stayed at the Vet all night.”

She was putting the finishing touches on a story about a night that was unlike any other in Philadelphia sports history. It had rained, all right. The first game of the doubleheader was interrupted three times by rain, delaying the game by nearly six hours. It ended at 1:04 a.m.

“The second game will start at 1:25,” it was announced. That game ended at 4:40 a.m., on a 10th-inning opposite-field single by Mitch Williams, the Phillies’ ace relief pitcher. Sam Carchidi had to file a story for the final edition (this was before the internet) that only included highlights from the first game.

Gwen’s story about the doubleheader, published on Page One of the Sunday paper on July 4, 1993, under the headline, “Phillies flirt with daybreak,” would win the Associated Press Sports Editors national award for best sports game story, but the piece was really about the scene.

To me, it remains a detail- and anecdote-packed tour de force of reporting and writing.

“The people came when the bars let out, when their shifts ended. They came with no tickets, only the desire to see the Phillies win and the sun rise simultaneously. The foursome from King of Prussia had tickets, but left the park and the rain. The foursome drove home, changed clothes, turned on the television, then drove all the way back,” she wrote.

“And there they were, still playing ball at the Vet.

“The Phillies and San Diego Padres had said, ‘Let’s play two,’ and the umpires were holding them to it. Once the action starts in major-league baseball, only the men in blue have the authority to halt it.”

This led to other assignments. Gwen was assigned to cover the Eagles before the San Francisco Examiner hired her in 1995 to write a general sports column. Nine years ago, she joined the staff of the New York Times. Before she headed west in the mid-’90s, she stopped by our house in Yardley to say hello to our infant son (now 28) — and wonder if she’d be up to the challenge of a regular column. Oh, was she.

Dave Caldwell, Philadelphia

The author was a sports reporter for The Inquirer from 1986 to 1995.

The members of the Bucks County school board majority are defending their policy prohibiting advocating for particular “partisan, political, or social policy issues.” They have made the fundamental error in thinking that a young person’s gender and sexual identities are partisan, political, or social policy issues and the result of “indoctrination.” They are not. It is personal. The adults creating bans and policies like this one have turned them into political issues. They have also turned flags that signal acceptance of all young people into partisan, political, and social symbols. My heart goes out to all of these young individuals who should have the space to explore and be accepted for who they are rather than being told their identity is a “partisan, political, and social issue,” and to the adults who have been told that supporting them is “using a position of authority to advocate for one side of a partisan, political, or social issue.”

Ronnie Rubin, Philadelphia

. . .

Living in South Jersey, I have found the movement into school boards by right-wing activists to be a frightening prospect. The Central Bucks School District is now facing such a culture war. The op-ed written by the six-member majority defending Policy 321 demonstrates just how insidious this movement is. The piece appears to be written in a measured, commonsense way. It states that school environments that reflect any political leanings create “a place of indoctrination” and, therefore, reduce a student’s ability to engage in critical thinking. If this were true, a school would not display American flags, we would not say the Pledge of Allegiance, and we would certainly not be banning books. I appreciate your publishing their op-ed. At least people are now able to see the tactics used to portray those who would divide us as reasonable and those who fight hate as hysterical. It is important that people focus on the real messages being presented.

Barbara Blonsky, Mount Laurel, barbarablonsky52@gmail.com

. . .

The claims by the majority of the Central Bucks school board regarding Policy 321, which bans political statements in the classroom, made some sense to me. But then I noticed the board had an American flag in their meeting room. Isn’t that a political statement? Of course it is, but it is one that they agree with. Pride flags are not a political statement, but rather an expression of support for those in the LGBTQ community. It is a reflection of the reality that being gay is not a choice but a reality. It is a statement that all students should feel safe for who they are. It is literally a matter of life and death for some. So now, how should the community respond to this ill-conceived policy? I propose that one day a week, every student in Central Bucks should wear Pride colors to school. Everyone should show up to school board meetings wearing Pride colors. Show these board members that they support LGBTQ students for who they are.

Al Ferrari, West Berlin

. . .

In their op-ed, the Central Bucks school board members state that “students should be taught how to think, not what to think.” Yet they are also very clear that they believe they need to censor the “what to think” part. You can’t separate the two. So what are students supposed to think about? Rather than presenting the truth about history and racism or topics the kids are already aware of, such as abortion rights or gender identity, the writers believe these issues should not be in the curriculum. Students will be thinking and talking about these issues whether they are presented by a teacher or not. What better place to open discussion than a classroom? Rather than ban all “political” symbols and flags, put them all up. That will get the kids thinking.

Sandra Dunn, retired teacher, Bala Cynwyd

. . .

I say no. Just no. If this school board “majority” wanted students to think, we’d see some evidence, not stale talking points, in their op-ed. LGBTQ youth are arguably the most vulnerable population in our nation. They are more likely to attempt suicide and to experience depression and anxiety than nearly any other demographic, not because they are gay or transgender, but because they are marginalized, shamed, and othered. This school board is doing the opposite of fostering “an optimal learning environment and atmosphere of inclusiveness.” They use the word “majority” four times in their op-ed. In 1788, John Adams warned of the “tyranny of the majority.” The majority on the Central Bucks school board may want to read their history before plunging headfirst into the wrong side of current events.

Louis Greenstein, Pleasantville, louisgreenstein@gmail.com

. . .

It’s rather disingenuous to claim to want what’s best “for the children” while also ignoring the fact that being born gay or trans, female or male, with light or dark skin, isn’t a “political choice.” Using the public school system to target children that your political or religious beliefs tell you are “other” is a loud and hateful political statement that has the potential to destroy lives and communities.

Mara Obelcz, Hatfield, momobelcz@gmail.com

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