Ricketts family’s political motives are tarnishing my life-long Cubs fandom

Because of the Ricketts family, I am no longer a Chicago Cubs fan.

The family, funded by Joe Ricketts, purchased the Cubs in 2009 and have brought many changes to the club.

Tom Ricketts and the Cubs have since tried to distance the organization from his father, Joe, responding to an email Joe had written that stated: “Christians and Jews can have a mutual respect for each other to create a civil society. As you know, Islam cannot do that. Therefore, we cannot ever let Islam become a large part of our society. Muslims are naturally my (our) enemy due to their deep antagonism and bias against non-muslims.”

Although, Tom has made clear that the Ricketts prefer to be recognized for the Cubs and not for politics, it’s also true that Joe spent millions of dollars in 2016 to help elect Donald Trump president.

And other members of the family include: Peter Ricketts, the Republican governor of Nebraska, and Todd Ricketts, finance chair of the Republican National Committee, the top fundraiser for Trump’s reelection campaign.

Is anyone really surprised that the Cubs hosted a fundraiser for Trump’s reelection campaign this weekend? Facts continue to demonstrate the Ricketts family’s intention to leverage the Cubs to further their political causes.

Next year, the Cubs have an exclusive deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair is the media empire that purchases trusted local news stations, and then requires them to run pro-Trump commentary and other conservative programming.

If Sinclair injects national conservative slanted news into local programming, why should we expect Sinclair to keep politics out of its sports broadcasting? And if Tom is really interested in keeping politics out of the Cubs, why is the team offering exclusive broadcasting rights to a conservative television network?

As a life-long Cubs fan, it pains me to no longer cheer a team I grew up supporting.

Fortunately, there are a million other places in Chicago to spend my time and money that line up with my values.

Daniel Taylor, Roscoe Village

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Let’s approach the abortion debate with honesty

I am pro-life and, no, it’s not because I’m part of a grand conspiracy to control women’s bodies. After evaluating science, I believe life begins at conception, not at some arbitrary date on a calendar. Similarly, I don’t believe passage through the birth canal conveys life to something that was moments ago lifeless and of no value.

Drawing that conclusion, a fetus is worth protecting. Similarly, I understand the paradigm of the pro-choice movement.

We have differing opinions on when life begins, but I understand the value they place on choice. I may disagree with the priority of that value when weighed against what I believe is the loss of human life, but it would be dishonest and counterproductive to attack the motivations of others.

This is an important debate that involves science, faith and philosophy, and we should avoid baseless insinuations about the motivations of those with whom we disagree.

Matthew Muir, Rogers Park