Letter: Level playing fields?

I am appalled by the community’s attitude toward the Immokalee High School sanctions.

They are simply not severe enough.

Do you want your high school football players competing against athletes that by age and experience could be in the NFL?

The Florida High School Athletic Association went too easily.

I have officiated soccer for more than 20 years — 15 of them in Michigan.

After officiating in Florida from 2001 to 2005, in simple terms I gave up.

Simply put, high school soccer is not very important (make that not at all important) in Florida and especially in Collier County).

I recently had the opportunity to fficiate the youth state cup championships in Fort Myers. The competition and sportsmanship were beyond reproach. A Naples team advanced to the final four in the state.

In my opinion, in spite of being in the under-16 age group, they could compete against and probably beat any high school team in the state — not only in ability but in class.

When in Michigan we had the Arabic influence that didn’t think they had to follow the rules. Florida has the Spanish.

The youth games I alluded to made each team verify their players’ ages through means like birth certificates.

What a novel idea.

Quit crying; you cheated!

You got off too easily.

Bill DeJohn/Naples