Rugby and jail

What the hell did Mark Reason put in his coffee (‘‘Chiefs show NZ Rugby the way forward’’, Sport, April 16)? He appears to be blaming Corrections for jailing Maori in large numbers.

The blame lies with the parents, and a futile war on drugs. Half or more Maori are in prison for smoking pot or growing and selling it to meet demand – they are really just entrepreneurs. Children with parents in jail are made to carry a terrible burden, and all for what? Stop this war and spend the money on rehabilitation.

Reason seems to believe that the Chiefs scored a try because the participants were Maori. Perhaps he favours apartheid, something I thought we had fought against.

He wants Maori players to remain in their community, apparently not realising the rugby community is world-wide, and Maori get as much exposure when they are overseas as they do if they are in New Zealand. A big plus is that exposure to overseas culture will have made these players much more rounded people (and with much bigger bank balances). This gives them mana, so the young look up to them with great respect.

Garth Scown, Wanganui