Jackson Free Press

Video emerged this weekend from New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford (warning there is some bad language in the video) showing defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul throwing cornerback Prince Amukamara into an ice bath.

Hazing has long been a part of life of sports. The problem of hazing is not confided to just the NFL. From Greek life in college to high school and college sports, and even college bands have run into legal trouble from hazing.

Recently more coaches in the NFL have taken stand against hazing that included harmless pranks such as making rookies standup during meals and sing their alma mater fight song to taping rookies to the goal posts after practice.

The harmless pranks lead to over the line pranks like what Pierre-Paul did to Amukamara. Florida A&M is in broiled in a hazing scandal that left a student dead and has led to the band being barred from school activities.

New Your Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and the club needs to come down hard on Pierre-Paul and anyone else who took part in this prank. Weatherford should be punished as well for filming the incident (posting it on twitter, thinking it was funny) and not stopping it.

The NFL has already stated this is a club issue. No word from the NFL Players Association on the hazing incident is just sad.

Every chance the NFLPA gets, they want to fight with the NFL but the group will not take a stance when one member dumps another member into an ice bath.

That is just plain sad and makes the NFLPA even more of a joke.

The reason the Giants need to come down hard on the participants is because this video went viral. Colleges and universities about to begin classes and high schools already in session, there is a chance someone thinks pranks like this one is a good idea and copies it.

Even scarier is the idea that someone would take a prank/hazing further and someone gets seriously hurt or ends up dead. Kids watch pro athletes and think if they do something it is ok for them to copy their actions.

That is why the New York Giants need to come down hard on all the players involved in this incident. There is a saying “it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt”.

Why don’t we put our foot down so things don’t get to the point someone gets hurts?

Law enforcement in Hinds and Rankin counties and in the cities of Jackson, Ridgeland, and Pearl worked together with the FBI, the Mississippi Attorney General's office and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to rescue victims of sex trafficking in Mississippi and bring traffickers to justice.

The local action was part of Operation Cross Country VII, a three-day enforcement action to address commercial child sex trafficking throughout the United States that encompassed 76 cities.

A 17-year-old Mississippi girl was among the 105 children rescued in the sting. The Jackson-area operation included the arrests of 10 pimps. Officials have charged 24 others "with related state and local offenses," the FBI stated in a release.

“Child prostitution is a threat to children not just in other countries, but across America and right here in Mississippi,” said Daniel McMullen, special agent in charge of the FBI in Mississippi. “This operation serves as a reminder that the FBI and its partners in law enforcement remain committed to identifying and rescuing any child who is being victimized in this heinous enterprise.”

Rankin County saw a total of 14 arrests, and charged three men with human trafficking: Christopher Jermaine Armstrong, 28, of Hattiesburg and James Edward Williams Jr., 27, and William Charles Toliver, 48, both of Jackson. Tolliver faces two trafficking counts while Armstrong and Williams are each charged with one count of trafficking and marijuana possession.

Jackson authorities arrested eight people. Among them are Square Jefferson, 24, and Gerald Knight, 25, who are charged with aiding and abetting prostitution--pimping--a felony.

In Ridgeland, the sting netted 12, including four Jackson residents arrested for promoting prostitution: Adrian Harris, 26; Travis Minor, 29; Randy Roberts, 29; and Jasmine Taylor, 20.

Ridgeland Police Lt. John Neal told the Associated Press that Taylor and a second woman both had children with them at the time of their arrests. Police charged the other woman with prostitution.

"Each of them had their two small children with them. There was one that was four years old, the other that was two years old in the car while her mother was up offering services," Neal said.

The number of alleged pimps arrested in Mississippi was fifth-highest in the nation, the AP reported, behind the FBI divisions in Detroit (18), San Francisco (17), Atlanta (17) and Oklahoma City (13).

To learn more about Operation Cross Country and the Innocence Lost National Initiative, visit www.fbi.gov, www.justice.gov, or www.ncmec.org.

The government is shut down.

The U.S. Air Force Academy has suspended travel, which threatens to cancel its game against Navy this weekend. And me and city reporter Tyler Cleveland couldn't even officially figure out how many Hispanics live in Jackson because the U.S. Census Bureau website is shut down. So we guesstimated the population be around 417,382ish, give or take.

By now, we all know what got us here.

Republicans in U.S. House of Representatives who still want to defund Obamacare pegged the health law to raising the debt ceiling. Leading up to the vote, there was a lot and back and forth about the pros and cons of Obamacare, the bulk of which went into effect today. There was also seemed to be an unusually high volume of congressional letter writing.

One such letter came from sometimes JFP columnist Jed Oppenheim, who shared his letter to U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker with me. It reads, in part:

"I am deeply troubled that you represent a state that is the least healthy in the country, has the greatest poverty, obesity, infant immortality and other negative life indicator rates in the country; and we are on the brink of closing hospitals and medical care due to not expanding medicaid, yes you continue to waste countless taxpayer dollars on a fruitless fight against a bill that has NEVER been allowed to succeed by the GOP. The time, money and manipulatives spent trying to prevent the implementation of Obamacare could have been used on our schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and military veterans to name a few. Yet nothing of this sort from the GOP--meaning nothing of this sort from our 'do-nothing' government."

Wow -- compelling and rich.

One would expect that such an impassioned pro-Obamacare missive would elicit a let's-agree-to-disagree form letter from Wicker's office. Here's what he wrote:

"Thank you for contacting me regarding your support for defunding and repealing the President's health-care law. I am glad to have the benefit of your views on this issue, and I agree that this massive government overhaul of health care in America should be fully repealed," Wicker's letter said.

Um, that's not exactly what Jed's letter said.

It actually said the opposite of that, but clearly Wicker isn't reading his mail.

No wonder the government's shut down.

In an election this short, money can make all the difference.

Unfortunately, we won't know who the big money players in the Jackson mayor's race are for at least another week, however.

Information from the Jackson city clerk's office shows that pre-election reports are due April 1, 2014 — one week before the election. Candidates are required to itemize each contribution over $200; donations under $200 can be lumped together.

Runoff candidates would need to file another report by April 15. All candidates are supposed to file statements of economic interest (SEI) with the Mississippi Ethics Commission as are current office holders and some other appointed officials.

Since so many of the candidates are current or former officeholders, I decided to pull their SEIs.

Here's what I dug up:

First, there are two glaring omissions. A search of the ethics-commission website returned no results for Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber, pastor of Relevant Empowerment Church and consultant with Bailey Kirkland Education Group, LLC. Yarber has been on the council since 2009 and told the Jackson Free Press this week that he draws now salary from his church and earns a living doing educational consulting and through the generosity of others, which he called "Holy Ghost handshakes."

Only one result, from 2009, came back for Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon. On her form, Barrett-Simon listed no business interests aside from her position on the city council; she listed her husband, Dr. Al Simon, as an employee of Jackson State University.

Former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s most recent report, filed in 2012, also shows that he held no economic interests outside of his office; he is seeking re-election to his former seat.

Democratic State Sen. John Horhn lists his wife, Gail, as an employee of Jackson Public Schools on his 2012 report. Horhn, a 2009 Jackson mayor candidate, also lists himself as an officer in three businesses: Branch Consulting Group LLC, Horhn & Associates and Landfair Solutions LLC that year.

Finally, in January 2013, Melvin Priester Jr., listed his law practice — Priester Law Firm — as a business interest and indicates that he has represented the Capital City Convention Center Commission. At the time, Priester was a candidate for Ward 2 city councilman; currently, he is seeking the mayor's office.

Verbatim release:

Jackson, MS – Earlier today, Rashaad Crisler, the son of former city councilman Marshand Crisler, filed qualifying papers with the City Clerk’s office as a candidate for City Council, Ward 6; the seat recently vacated by Mayor Tony Yarber the day he was sworn in as mayor of the City of Jackson. A special election has been set for June 17th to fill the vacancy. Rashaad Crisler stated, “I am excited about the opportunity of continuing the work Mayor Yarber initiated during his tenure as city councilman of our ward, and I’m equally thrilled about the possibility of achieving a similar community service record as my father when he served two terms in that very same seat.”

It is well known that Crisler’s father, Marshand Crisler, was a big supporter of Yarber’s bids for both city councilman in 2009, and recently, as mayor; hence Rashaad Crisler sees a direct correlation between his bid for the Ward 6 seat and the efforts of Mayor Yarber and the elder Crisler during their respective tenures as city councilmen.

The younger Crisler, who will turn 28 years old next month, went on to say, “I believe Ward 6, and South Jackson as a whole, have a lot to offer citizens throughout this state. In an effort to enhance those amenities, our campaign is committed to conveying to the citizens of Ward 6 that we intend to vigorously promote a safer community by working with local law enforcement as they enforce existing laws, and when elected, helping create new city ordinances when necessary. One of our primary focuses is on major street resurfacing projects throughout our ward in an effort to address our failing infrastructure, which will also assist with job creation, along with offering incentives to small business owners who want to do business in Ward 6.”

Crisler will officially announce his candidacy for the Ward 6 seat at a press conference scheduled tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. in front of City Hall.

About Rashaad Crisler Crisler is a product of the Jackson Public School System; graduating from Forest Hill High School in 2004. He is also a graduate of Jackson State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management in 2011. He is currently working towards receiving a master’s degree in theology while attending seminary school at Flag Chapel Baptist College. Crisler serves as an associate minister at Flag Chapel Independent Baptist Church. Crisler is also a 7-year veteran of the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, and he was recently hired as a (part-time) mail carrier with the U.S. Post Office. He has been married to the former Amy Sims, for almost 7 years, and they are the proud parents of a newborn son, Aiden Rashaad Crisler.

June 18 concluded the first eight cycles of the USA International Ballet Competition. Round one, which included 91 dancers, ended with 54 dancers moving to round two.

Eighteen senior male dancers have moved to round two, along with 14 senior female dancers, seven junior male dancers and 15 junior female dancers. The countries with the most dancers entering the round are Japan, the U.S., the Republic of Korea and Brazil.

Here are the competitors.

Senior Males

Aaron Smyth (Australia)

Andile Ndlovu (South Africa)

Byul Yun (Republic of Korea)

Dae Han Na (Republic of Korea)

Gantsooj Otgonbyamba (Mongolia)

Ilya Artamonov (Russia)

Ivan Duarte (Brazil)

Jeong Hansol (Republic of Korea)

Ji-Seok Ha (Republic of Korea)

Jun Tanabe (Japan)

Kota Fujishima (Japan)

Mengjun Chen (Peoples Republic of China)

Mozart Mizuyama (Brazil)

Nayon Rangel Iovino (Brazil)

Rodrigo Almarales (Cuba)

Sebastian Vinet (Chile)

Steven Loch (USA) Telmo Moreira (Portugal)

Senior Females

Arianni Martin (Cuba)

Ga-Yeon Jung (Republic of Korea)

Heewon Cho (Republic of Korea)

Hitomi Nakamura (Japan)

Irina Sapozhnikova (Russia)

Jessica Assef (Brazil)

Kaori Fukui (Japan)

Melissa Gelfin (USA)

Olga Marchenkova (Russia)

Shiori Kase (Japan)

Sirui Liu (Peoples Republic of China)

Tamako Miyazaki (Japan)

Ye Lim Choi (Republic of Korea)

Yui Sugawara (Japan)

Junior Males

Aran Bell (USA)

Blake Kessler (USA)

Daniel Alejandro McCormick-Quintero (Mexico)

Gustavo Carvalho (Brazil)

Jinsol Eum (Republic of Korea)

Taiyu He (Peoples Republic of China)

Yue Shi (Peoples Republic of China)

Junior Females

Ami Naito (Japan)

Gabrielle Chock (USA)

Gisele Bethea (USA)

Katherine Barkman (USA)

Mackenzie Richter (USA)

Mizuho Nagata (Japan)

Olivia Gusti (USA)

Paula Alves (Brazil)

Paulina Guraieb Abella (Mexico)

Rieko Hatato (Japan)

Romina Contreras (Chile)

So Jung Lee (Republic of Korea)

Victoria Wong (USA)

Yasmin Lomondo (Brazil)

Yoshiko Kamikusa (Japan)

"The dancers competing in the 2014 USA IBC are presenting a high caliber of artistic performance and skill,"USA IBC Executive Director Sue Lobrano said in a press release. "Anticipation is high moving into the Contemporary Round II."

The competition hits the pause button tonight, June 19, though, as the Trey McIntyre Project gets ready for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Lobrano said at a press conference that this will be one of the group's last performances. Round two begins June 20 at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, visit usaibc.com

Republican leaders say they don't want to simply do away with Common Core academic standards—they want higher, better standards.

“I don't take a political position on this. I take a personal position on this,” Gov. Phil Bryant said, echoing other lawmakers at the 'Stop Common Core' rally today at the Capitol that Common Core hurts Mississippi schoolchildren.

Bryant spoke about the national governors meeting he attended in which “they” said that Common Core was designed by national governors. “Well I wasn’t in the room when it happened,” Bryant joked.

It is the idea that these standards are a government overreach that drives the anti-Common Core movement. “We’re not here today to say take away those academic challenges. We’re here to say make them better but take them away from the control of the federal government,” Bryant said.

The speakers also repeated one point so firmly you might think they were trying to convince themselves: they’re “not attacking anyone.”

During his speech, Bryant recalled a conversation he had with another governor whom he described as “on the other end of the political spectrum,” but who also does not like Common Core. The governor told Bryant, “This is something I agree on,” Bryant said.

“He said, ‘My teachers union don’t like it,’ and I said, ‘Well bless your heart for that,’” Bryant said smugly while the crowd erupted in laughter.

Apparently, Common Core standards, adopted by 46 state including the ones most thriving in education, are not high enough for Mississippi, which consistently rates at the bottom in education categories.

While none of the politicians who spoke at the rally—including Bryant, Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, Sen. Michael Watson, R-Pascagoula and Sen. Phillip Gandy, R-Waynesboro—spoke in detail about how the new standards would be crafted, Bryant assured it could be done without spending much money.

“Angela Hill could do a pretty good job at that and it wouldn’t cost us $8.6 million,” Bryant said of creating educational standards.

Hill told the group that even if the state does not develop new academic standards, it could adopt standards from other states, which, she said, would be free.

“It is not brain surgery. I can’t do brain surgery but I can write standards,” said the former science teacher.

Watson spoke to the group, challenging legislators and voters not to give up on the fight for higher standards, “because that’s what our children deserve.”

“We're not here to attack anybody, but we're here to fight,” Watson said.

Below is the verbatim press release from 42 For Better Schools sent out today.

To the Supporters of Initiative 42 and All Proponents of Public Education:

As another school day began this morning, the 500,000 candidates for whom we fought in the campaign for Initiative 42 took their seats in classrooms across Mississippi. The majority of those candidates were probably unaware that they'd just lost a battle for full funding of their public schools. Likewise, they probably did not know that their campaign was just beginning.

Unlike a traditional political campaign, Tuesday night saw no winners. Certainly not the supporters of the constitutional amendment to force the Legislature to abide by its own 1997 school funding law. And most definitely not the opponents of Initiative 42, at least not from the perspective of the half a million students -- those candidates -- whose educational environments remain exactly the same today as they did yesterday.

Of the approximately 640,000 Mississippi voters who cast ballots on Tuesday -- one of the lowest turnouts in state history -- only about 25,000 more people voted against the amendment than voted for it. So no matter who claims "victory," our Legislature must now heed the call to do more to improve our public schools. Either that, or simply ignore the wishes of more than 300,000 of their citizens.

With power comes tremendous responsibility, and those who control the legislative process have a larger duty to serve all the people, not just those who agree with their political ideology. As the saying goes, character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you.

As we reflect on Tuesday's results, the 42 For Better Schools Campaign offers no excuses and assigns no blame for not reaching the numbers required to adopt the constitutional amendment. Did the Legislature's alternative measure create the confusion they wanted to defeat 42? Of course it did. Would 42 have passed if the vote had been a straight-up yes or no decision without the alternative? Most likely.

So many factors play into any political campaign and this one had more than most. It was an uphill climb from the start, but that was the point -- to start the process to guarantee adequate and full funding for our students and their public schools. And so the battle continues.

The volatility and rancor on both sides of this issue over the past few months only underscores its importance and the need to continue working to make a difference. While this battle wages, we hope that somewhere in the wings lies the opportunity for cooperation from both sides.

We are all Mississippians. And our candidates will always be our children.

Jonathan Compretta Michael Rejebian Co-Managers, 42 For Better Schools

Every NFL team wants to have stability at a few important spots in the franchise, from ownership to general manager to head coach to quarterback.

This morning, the New Orleans Saints made sure one of the major pieces of their stability was staying in town a little longer. Head coach Sean Payton announced during the NFC’s coaching breakfast that he and the Saints had reached a deal for a five-year extension.

ESPN’s Ed Werder said in a news article that the new deal will keep Payton in New Orleans until 2020 and pay him more than $45 million over the length of the deal. Payton was already one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL and made $8.5 million a year on his last contract with the club.

In the 10 years he has been with the Saints, he has put together an 87-57 record and led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title. Payton has been with the Saints since 2006, which ties him with Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers for third-longest tenured head coach in the NFL.

Payton slides to fourth place if you discount the 2012 season in which he was suspended for the whole year as part of the Bountygate. New England’s Bill Belichick has been with the Patriots since 2000, and Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis has been with the Bengals since 2003.

While in New Orleans, Payton has guided the Saints to the playoffs five times, and he had a 6-4 playoff record. He will forever be linked with the Saints' quick turnaround after Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast.

After last season, in which the Saints finished 7-9, people speculated that New Orleans might try to trade Payton. That notion was quickly dispelled when Payton himself said he wanted to finish his career as New Orleans head coach.

New Orleans has missed the playoffs for the last two years, but with this contract, Payton can keep working on his vision to keep the Saints' championship window open. Part of that vision is sure to include quarterback Drew Brees.

Reports are that the Saints and Brees are working on a four-year extension to keep him in New Orleans until 2020 as well. A new extension for Brees also might help ease some of his cap burden for the next season, which is currently $30 million.

Payton’s extension also helps the club entering the NFL Draft next month. New Orleans can focus on both short and long-term plays knowing that their head coach will be in-house for the next five years.

The New Orleans Saints have the 12th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Overall, the Saints have seven draft picks to use in this year’s draft.

The Mississippi Department of Education has released the 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment Results. You can view them here.

Of the top ten highest performing schools, three of them were located in Jackson Public Schools. 100% of Casey Elementary, McWillie Elementary and Davis Magnet School third graders passed the test the first time. 79.4% of the district's third graders passed the test the first time. Madison Crossing Elementary School students of Madison County Schools made the top 10 as well.

89.4% of third graders passed the tests, administered in March of April of this year, the first time. Those students who did not pass the test the first time will have two more opportunities to take the assessment: first from May 16 through May 22, and then between June 27 and August 5 of this year.

From a May 12, 2016 MDE press release:

"Local school districts will determine which of their students who did not pass qualify for one of the good cause exemptions for promotion to 4th grade. The remaining students will be retested before a decision is made about their promotion or retention."

Mississippi’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act requires that a student scoring at the lowest achievement level on the 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment be retained in 3rd grade, unless the student meets the good cause exemptions specified in the law.

The Literacy-Based Promotion Act was amended in 2016 and will require students starting in the 2018-2019 school year to score above the lowest two achievement levels in order to be promoted to the 4th grade.

Also, starting in the 2015-2016 school year, students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan who have received either intensive remediation for more than two years or who were previously retained for one year can now qualify for a good cause exemption."

In an extensive interview with the Jackson Free Press, state superintendent Dr. Carey Wright said she was pleased with the increased proficiency standards in the amended Literacy-Based Promotion Act.

Sierra Mannie is an education reporting fellow for the Jackson Free Press and The Hechinger Report. Email her at [email protected].

Mississippi College set a school record for softball wins today in what might be the coolest way. The Choctaws won their 39th game as they took down Belhaven University 3-0, winning the 2016 National Christian College Athletic Association Softball National Championship.

MC was the top seed in the NCCAA Softball World Series, and the Blazers were the No. 2 seed in the eight-team tournament. For the most part, both schools dominated.

The Choctaws rolled by teams with scores of 14-4, 11-0, 13-5 and 5-1 to get to the championship game. Belhaven battled its way through the tournament, winning 5-1, 6-1, and 6-5 in an extra innings game, and 9-1 to make the title match.

MC struck quickly with a run in the first inning and, in reality, it was the only run the team needed that day. The Choctaws got two more insurance runs in the fifth inning to seal the win over the Blazers.

Mississippi College pitcher Carlie Sargent earned Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, as she tossed seven shutout innings for the complete game. Sargent (21-11) threw her ninth career shutout as she struck out seven, walked two and scattered four hits.

Belhaven pitcher Julienne Broussard (16-4) pitched seven complete innings, giving up eight hits, three earned runs, five strikeouts and one walk in a losing effort. Katherine Lee, leadoff hitter for MC, went 2-for-4 at the plate, and outfielder Megan Everett went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Tylan Buckley, outfielder for the Choctaws, went 1-for-4 but drove in the first run for MC. No player for Belhaven could muster more than one hit.

The Blazers finish the season with a 37-9 record, and Mississippi College ends the season with 39-19 record and a national title. This is the first women’s national championship title in school history.

Belhaven and MC dominated the All-Tournament selections as they dominated the tournament itself. The schools combined to place five of the 11 players selected for the post-tournament honors.

Sargent was not only the MOP but was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Joining her for MC were Lauren Mulligan and Everett. Belhaven placed Dani Craft and Crystal Kehtel on the All-Tournament Team.

As the summer starts, so does the music festival circuit. That's the primetime for many bands and solo artists to release new music, giving them a little something extra to promote while on tour. Here's a look at some of the big releases—and a few smaller ones that I'm looking forward to—for the coming weeks.

While college football is just around the corner, let’s not forget that women’s soccer will begin this fall. The SWAC head coaches and sports information directors made their preseason predictions for the upcoming soccer season.

The team to beat and big winner of the awards is affiliate member Howard University, which was picked to win the conference with 170 points. Howard also swept all three preseason awards for Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year. The Bison also had eight players placed on either the first-team or second-team All-SWAC.

Mississippi Valley State University was picked to finish second in the conference with 146 points, closely followed by third-place pick Alabama State University with 145 points.

Jackson State University was picked to finish fourth with 126 points, with Prairie View A&M University in fifth place at 112 points. Arkansas-Pine Bluff University was picked to end up sixth with 102 points, and another close vote had Texas Southern University in seventh with 101 points.

Alabama A&M University ended up in eighth place with 74 points, and Southern University was picked to finish ninth with 58 points. Rounding out the bottom of the conference is Grambling State University, picked to finish 10th with 46 points and Alcorn State University picked to finish last with 42 points.

Jackson State placed three players on first-team All-SWAC in midfielder Jalana Ellis, defender Kyleigh Lo and goalie Faith Toennies. The Tigers placed two players on the second-team All-SWAC in midfielders Kalen Roberts and Sie’Yara Wells. The five players JSU placed on the preseason teams were second in the conference.

Mississippi Valley State finished 2015 as regular season champions and placed one player on the first-team All-SWAC in midfielder Laadi Issaka. The Delta Devils placed two players on the second-team: All-SWAC forward Heather Craddock and midfielder Marina Balboa.

Alcorn State didn’t place any players on either first or second teams. Alabama State was third in players selected to the preseason teams, with four players. Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern each placed one player on the preseason teams.

Last season, MVSU finished 8-1-1 in SWAC play and 13-7-2 overall. JSU finished with the same 8-1-1 record as the Delta Devils in conference play and the Tigers finished 11-7-2 overall. Alcorn State finished 0-10 in SWAC play and 0-13 overall.