Comment on "Scalar-tensor gravity coupled to a global monopole and flat rotation curves"

The recent paper by Lee and Lee [Phys. Rev. D 69, 127502 (2004)] may strongly leave the impression that astronomers have established that the rotation curves of spiral galaxies are flat. We show that the old paradigm of flat rotation curves lacks, today, any observational support and following it at face value leads to intrinsically flawed alternatives to the standard dark matter scenario. On the other hand, we claim that the rich systematics of spiral galaxy rotation curves, which reveals, in the standard Newtonian gravity framework, the phenomenon of dark matter, in alternative scenarios, works as a unique benchmark.