Running Loose is an excellent vehicle for discussing matters related to prejudicial attitudes, especially in sports.

Like Huck Finn, who feels he is damned because he tries to save Jim, the main character, Louie, feels the ostracism of the community because of his protest of the treatment of the black athlete from the neighboring school.

Racist attitudes are presented in two characters. Coach Lednecky sets up a major plot conflict by suggesting in the locker room that the football team should look for ways to disable the opponent's talented black quarterback in order to secure their undefeated season. Louie's nemesis Boomer, a crude teammate, is the other exponent of racism, and it is he who tackles Washington, the black quarterback, hard enough to send him to the hospital. Louie's response to this unsportsmanlike conduct and to racism supports values of fairness and equality.

The two prominent...