DON'T LAY THE RAP ON McGWIRE

YOUR editorial urging Mark McGwire to stop using androstenedione (``McRole
model,'' Opinion, Aug. 28) was McNuts! Please don't offer sanctimonious
critiques about one of America's few legitimate sports heroes.

Mark McGwire is a mature adult, fully capable of deciding whether
androstenedione is a diet supplement he wants to use. It may be dangerous
to youngsters, and adults as well, but it is a legal, over-the-counter
product.

What the Mercury News and other media have foolishly done is highlight a
product which is, no doubt, now on the shopping lists of thousands of
youngsters. The media has done a terrible disservice to America's youth.

Don't expect Mark McGwire to bail you out on this one. Hang your head in
shame. You owe Mark McGwire and America's youth an apology.

- -- George Hargrove

Sunnyvale

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson