Chris Korman's article about Larry Johnson ("Larry Johnson's tenure in NFL gives little pride to Penn State," Jan. 16) is an absolute outrage that completely ignores the facts of the situation.

LJ's legal troubles are not Joe Paterno's problem. He's gotten into trouble in spite of everything he learned from Paterno, not because of it. For every bad apple that comes out of the Penn State football program, there are 50 great citizens.

Now, on to Johnson's on-field performance. Korman calls LJ's 4.25 yards per carry "horrific." Anybody who knows anything about pro football will agree that 4.25 yards is a great average, especially for a rookie who's getting limited playing time. Also, there are many reasons that he was third on the depth chart. Priest Holmes, arguably the best running back in the NFL, is the primary reason for LJ's status.

Second, Hank Blaylock, Holmes' backup, is a veteran special-teamer. With Dante Hall returning kicks, Kansas City wanted their best and most experienced special teams players to be on the field. Also, the Chiefs had some health problems at fullback. This required them to always have two fullbacks active, which is why LJ was inactive for many of the games. You can't get many carries when you're not on the active roster.

That these facts were ignored in the original article is a travesty brought on by the anti-Paterno bias evident across campus since the end of football season.