Your editorial about workers compensation for professional athletes ("Workers comp not meant for out-of-state pros," March 5) is rather off the mark. Rather than focusing on the California Insurance Guarantee Association having to pay because an out-of-state insurance company went bankrupt for not following good business practices, you blame the poor injured worker who sat on the bench while his employer picked up megabucks in gate receipts from California citizens just because he was there ready to participate in a game.

The real fix is to have the employer buy real California insurance and pay his fair share in producing injured players. It is not a fix to dump the player onto some other state simply because the player coincidentally lives there. It is not taxes that pay workers compensation, it is insurance companies, and they apparently don't like it that California tries to adequately provide coverage for people hurt in California.

Since no one but insurance companies can get rich on workers compensation, what is being provided to the injured player in these other states?

WILLIAM MORRIS

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