Letters to the Editor | May 17, 2026

I am a Roman Catholic priest and a lifelong New York Knicks fan. I am a pastor of a church that is less than one block away from Madison Square Garden. We welcome fans from all different teams from the NBA, the NHL, and the Big East basketball conference to worship in our church before and after games. It does not matter what religion you are — we are all brothers and sisters of the same God.

I would like to publicly praise Nick Nurse, the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. I met him after a weekday Mass before Game 2, and we had a brief chat. First of all, we Knick fans never expected the 76ers in the second round. We expected a tough playoff against the Boston Celtics, who were up 3-1 in the first round. Nurse motivated the 76ers to an outstanding comeback. The same Nurse motivated an amazing performance by the 76ers players who were without Joel Embiid in Game 2. Nick led this valiant effort while grieving for his older brother, Steve, who recently died. I am truly moved by Nurse’s leadership skills. You have a great coach.

The Knicks are playing at a level of confidence I have not seen since 1973, when they won their last NBA championship. I cannot guarantee a championship this year. What I can guarantee is that the city of Philadelphia is a great sports town, and I predict the 76ers will come back strong next season with Nick Nurse as their coach.

The Rev. Brian Jordan, pastor, Church of St. Francis of Assisi, New York

I watched the Benjamin Netanyahu interview on 60 Minutes and came away with a lot of questions. The Israeli prime minister said Donald Trump had expressed to him a desire to have U.S. ground troops extract Iran’s enriched Uranium. Hmm, what happened to Trump’s promise to put America first in our foreign policy?

Other than Trump securing our country’s borders and trying to dismantle DEI, what else is there to like about the Trump presidency? I didn’t like computer geeks firing thousands of federal employees and canceling vital research grants to colleges and universities. I don’t like the Big Beautiful Bill tax cuts. I don’t like Trump’s proclivity for bypassing Congress and governing by executive order. And, sorry, but Trump’s braggadocious, demeaning, and insulting manner of speech doesn’t befit the leader of the free world. Sadly, the Trump presidency has been a great disappointment.

Fred Hearn, Turnersville

Recently, my local newspaper, the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat, printed a column by Trudy Rubin regarding the recent visit to the U.S. by Britain’s King Charles III. Although I’ve never been that impressed by Charles, I was pleasantly surprised by his demeanor during the visit, and Rubin captured the essence of his speech to Congress exceptionally well. After the visit, one cartoonist — when comparing our president’s temperament and behavior to the king’s subtle performance — asked: Do you think England would take us back? Please extend my thanks and admiration to Rubin for her fine journalism. I do hope her piece has been widely circulated and widely read.

Norine Moses, Calistoga, Calif.

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