Story
Texas GOP Advances 'Reparative Therapy' for Gays
The Texas Republican Party would endorse psychological treatment that seeks to turn gay people straight under a new platform partly aimed at rebuking laws in California and New Jersey that …
Story
Person of the Day
Kiese Laymon
Award-winning fiction writer Kiese Laymon is returning to Mississippi from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he serves as an associate professor of English and African studies, to serve as …
Entry
NCAA Rule Changes We All Can Agree On
By bryanflynnFolks tailgating at The Grove this fall on the campus of the University of Mississippi will no doubt talk about potential NCAA sanctions. At some point, the talk might turn to another university that’s just over 630 miles from Oxford, Miss.: Baylor University in Texas.
Rebels fans might be scratching their heads wondering why they are looking down the barrel of the NCAA’s gun, but Baylor University isn’t. The answer is simple: There are no rules in the massive NCAA rulebook on what is going on at Baylor. Last year, a sexual-assault scandal in the football program came to light, and since then, the allegations have continued to mount.
Each new lawsuit against the university is painting an ugly picture about what was going on at Baylor. Still, the Bears will get to compete for the Big 12 title and head to a bowl game, but not the Rebels.
In an article on Sports Illustrated’s website, SI.com, writer Andy Staples breaks down the reasons why the NCAA won’t punish Baylor.
He points out that the organization jumped the gun against Pennsylvania State University in 2012.
The NCAA punished Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse case. For the most part, many of the sanctions have quietly been reduced or repealed.
Personally, I was against the punishment for Penn State, not because of I’m a fan of the university but because the NCAA overstepped its boundaries. We can all agree that the NCAA should relax some rules and do away with others, but it can’t just make up rules on the fly.
Public outcry drowned out common sense. For the NCAA, the PSU case became, “We have to do something,” and not a question of whether organization had the ability to do something. The NCAA has learned its lesson so far in the Baylor case, but public outcry grows by the day.
It is amazing that an organization that has rules for when a coach can call or text a recruit doesn’t have rules when something horrific like what happened at Penn State and what is happening at Baylor. Maybe that should change.
Even before the Penn State scandal, the NCAA had a chance to change the rules and bring the hammer down on programs that were covering up crimes. In 2003 also at Baylor, basketball player Carlton Dotson murdered fellow teammate Patrick Dennehy.
Then-Head Coach Dave Bliss lied about Dennehy, saying he had become a drug dealer to pay his tuition. In reality, Bliss was paying for Dennehy’s tuition in order to get around NCAA rules.
Long story short, Baylor got in trouble, not for trying to cover up a murder, but because a coach playing fast and loose with rules in the NCAA books. Bliss got a 10-year show-cause penalty, which has ended his chances of coaching at another NCAA school.
It was a chance for the organization to look at changing …
Story
Forthcoming U.S. Chamber ‘Lawsuit Climate' Report a ‘Phony'?
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's "Institute for Legal Reform" plans to release a report Wednesday ranking Mississippi as the 48th worst "legal climate" in the country. In response to "Lawsuit …
Story
City & County
Lumumba on Defense: JPD Rape Claims, Suicide a 'Human Tragedy'
Jackson Police Chief James Davis was four words into answering a press question about whether he had any regrets for his handling of sexual-assault allegations against an officer when Mayor …
Story
Events
Community Meetings and Events
Sip & Shop Jackson: Fashion Show Edition is Saturday, March 8, from 1 p.m.-6 p.m. at Arts Center of Mississippi.
Story
Go see Infinite.
Hal & Mal's Red Room
One of the Chick Ball committee members, Infinite, let us in on some of her upcoming events. We thought you should know, too!
Story
[Hutchinson] Bush Had a Point About the Democrats
In a July speech to the National Urban League Convention, President Bush asked: "Does the Democratic Party take African-American voters for granted?" The answer: a resounding yes.
Story
[Mimi] Last of the Red-Hot Sugar Mamas
Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, …
Story
Madeleine Albright Weighs In
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright took questions from reporters, including the Jackson Free Press, after Friday's presidential debate. Here's what she had to say.
Story
Delta to Offer Direct Service Between Jxn and D.C.
[December 6, 2004/Verbatim from Sen. Lott] U.S. Senator Trent Lott, who chairs the U.S. Senate's Aviation Subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Thad Cochran have voiced praise for today's decision by the …
Story
Butch Bailey
Butch Bailey thinks Mississippians are missing out on something divine: gourmet beer.
Story
Feds: Man Arrested in LA Airport Not Cooperating
A man arrested at Los Angeles International Airport wearing a bulletproof vest and flame-resistant pants is not cooperating with federal officials working to discover why he was headed to Boston …
Story
CHICK: Nowhere To Stand But Up
"The worst state for women is Mississippi," says the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a scientific research organization founded in 1987 to inform and stimulate debate on public policy issues …
Story
City Faces Homicide Spate
This past Sunday, Michael Jerome Williams, a 28-year-old suspect in a double homicide, turned himself in to police after committing the city's eighth and ninth homicides in 10 days with …
Story
[Column] Real Patriots Pay Taxes
Some of our nation's biggest corporations are planning a tax holiday and they want you to pick up the tab.
Story
EU Leaders Inch Toward Budget Deal at Tough Summit
European Union leaders closed in on a deal that would cut the bloc's budget for the first time in history and deliver a strong message that years of expanding EU …
Story
Eating By The Bay
I recently returned from a week in San Francisco visiting my lovely sister, Annie, and her husband, Jess. I planned my trip several weeks in advance so that our first …
Story
‘Skinny Kid' Barack Wows Dems in Jackson
JFP Web Exclusive
"A skinny kid with a funny name" brought his fund-raising efforts to Jackson today, speaking at a multi-racial fund-raising breakfast at Mikhail's Northgate. Democratic star Barack Obama, a state senator …
Story
Biz Roundup
Habitat Broadmoor Build, Malco Reopenings and Women’s Foundation COVID-19 Grants
Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area recently finished its latest home as part of the five-year Broadmoor neighborhood revitalization initiative it launched in 2019, despite setbacks and obstacles to construction …
