A Critical Analysis of Mark Bechtel's "zero Tolerance" Article

Joe Caldarone

29 March 2006

A Critical Analysis of Mark Bechtel's "Zero Tolerance" Article

Mark Bechtel's' "Zero Tolerance" article is a basic reading that one can understand easily, without much misunderstanding about what is being said. Bechtel's article is meant to inform people about how professional athletes are paying extremely steep prices for breaking the rules in their respective sports (Sports Illustrated). This essay is written in a simplistic style, which essentially creates easy understanding for the reader. Overall, Bechtel's article was well written and provided good information on the topic.

Bechtel carefully investigated the topic which he is writing about and is therefore able to discuss the topic with clarity and precision. Throughout the article, Bechtel informs the reader about some recent incidents that athletes have been punished for. In doing this, Bechtel mentions Terrell Owens, Sean Taylor, Kobe Bryant, Marcus Vick, and Ron Artest as some of the athletes who have been punished for their actions. He informs the reader about the constant problem of players breaking the rules in professional sports. "On January 7th, Virginia Tech bounced junior Marcus Vick, after he'd had repeated run-ins with the law and stomped on a Louisville player's leg in the Gator Bowl"(28). Bechtel does an extraordinary job of using outside sources to keep his explanation on the subject continuous. Some of his other outside sources include Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, Nextel Cup Champ Kurt Busch, George Karl, and Vince Carter. " Nuggets coach George Karl got a two-game ban and was fined $80,000 for criticizing the officiating in a November game"(28).

I found that that this article was very simple because I understood all the words used in the text and it was written about a topic that I am familiar with. The vocabulary used by Bechtel in this article is straightforward and easy to comprehend. Bechtel allows his reader to depart with new knowledge of the subject being discussed. Bechtel accomplished his goal, which is to inform people of the punishments being faced by professional athletes for breaking and violating league rules.

"Zero Tolerance", by Mark Bechtel is a title that has a direct connection to the meaning of