My letter in the Philadelphia Inquirer about Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers

The following is a letter to the editor that I wrote, which appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, regarding the current situation concerning Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers:

Time to move on from Ben Simmons

October 24, 2021

To the Editor:

Responding to “Sixers suspend Simmons for a game” (Oct. 20), instead of the excitement that inherently comes with the start of the NBA season, the Sixers are dealing with a degree of drama that detracts from the team’s dogged pursuit of a championship. Ben Simmons has morphed into a disgruntled superstar whose troubling insubordination has become a major distraction for his teammates and the Sixers organization. With a $33 million annual salary, Simmons’ holdout and refusal to participate in team activities will certainly not engender sympathy among Sixers fans and must be addressed accordingly by team officials. His conduct is antithetical to the concept of a team and the disruption to the Sixers’ chemistry is likely beyond repair. The Sixers cannot coddle Simmons and must put the overall needs of the team ahead of the personal needs of one of its star players, who has explicitly expressed his desire to leave Philadelphia.

N. Aaron Troodler

Bala Cynwyd

My letter in The New York Times about the U.S. Supreme Court

The following is a letter to the editor that I wrote, which appeared in The New York Times, about the U.S. Supreme Court in response to a recent article regarding “a court increasingly associated with partisanship” that “is suffering a distinct drop in public support.”

October 5, 2021

To the Editor:

Re “Abortion Leads Charged Docket in Court Return” (front page, Oct. 4):

As an institution whose independence is paramount to its very existence and whose objectivity is critical to its ability to carry out its judicial duties, the Supreme Court cannot afford to become mired in partisan politics.

The integrity of the court becomes compromised when the public perception is that personal political ideologies are impeding the justices’ ability to adjudicate cases without a degree of bias.

When the justices feel compelled to publicly defend their rulings as being devoid of politics, it is time to reassess this once hallowed body and focus on returning it to its original constitutional mandate. The Supreme Court is about public trust, not public polling, and the justices should focus on impartiality, not popularity.

With a docket replete with matters of great consequence that will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our nation, the justices must take great care to purge partisanship from the court.

N. Aaron Troodler

Bala Cynwyd, Pa.