SPORTS
STORM CENTER: Choose your mascot wisely
On June 17, 2015, a mass shooting took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, S.C.
During a Bible study, a man opened fire with a handgun and killed nine people.
That man was Dylann Roof, who at the time was unemployed and living in a part of Charleston that’s predominantly African-American. Roof was later captured in a traffic stop on June 18 in Shelby, N.C., about 250 miles from the site of the shooting.
Roof then confessed to committing the attack at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston. He’s scheduled to reappear in court on Oct. 23, 2015, and Feb. 5, 2016. His bond has been set at $1 million.
Roof had a “Confederate States of America” decoration on the bumper of the Hyundai Elantra he was driving at the time he was stopped.
This senseless tragedy has caused waves of emotion to wash over the country.
Nowhere was this more on display than in Fort Smith, Ark., which is where your current sports editor lived and worked in 2013 and early 2014.
I was a copy editor for the Times Record, building sports pages for the newspaper.
See, a Fort Smith school board committee passed a motion on Tuesday to ban the “Dixie” song during the 2015-16 academic year.
In addition, all Fort Smith Southside teams will no longer be called the Rebels as of 2016-17.
This motion was passed unanimously.
A school board member openly admitted the decision to remove the Rebel mascot stemmed from the mass shooting in South Carolina. Read more of this column in the weekend Bowie News.
Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.
The sports editor wonders if this mascot offends you, the reader? This is Fort Smith Southside’s mascot. Let him know at: bnewssports@gmail.com. We appreciate feedback. (Logo provided by the Fort Smith (Ark.) School District, no copyright infringement inferred)
New Saint Jo Boy’s Basketball Coach Terry McLennan said the school’s family atmosphere is what prompted him to join the Panther family.
“This is an opportunity to be an important program but also part of a great community,” McLennan said. “I’ve been looking to get back to a small town environment like the one I grew up in and played ball and this should do that.”
McLennan played basketball in Hubbard outside of Waco. McLennan comes to town after being the assistant girl’s basketball coach in Grand Prairie.
McLennan contends he’s a defensive style of coach but says his team will focus on intensity.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
New Saint Jo Boy’s Basketball Coach Terry McLennan said the school’s family atmosphere is what prompted him to join the Panther family.
“This is an opportunity to be an important program but also part of a great community,” McLennan said. “I’ve been looking to get back to a small town environment like the one I grew up in and played ball and this should do that.”
McLennan played basketball in Hubbard outside of Waco. McLennan comes to town after being the assistant girl’s basketball coach in Grand Prairie.
McLennan contends he’s a defensive style of coach but says his team will focus on intensity.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
After some coaching time in East Texas, Bret Botard will be the new girl’s basketball coach at Bowie.
Botard said it’s a chance to work with Bowie Athletic Director Tyler Price once again. Price was Botard’s assistant when he coached at Nocona.
“I wanted to get back into the area,” Botard said. “It’s a good community.”
Botard graduated high school in 1995 from Del Valle High School, outside Austin, and went to Texas Tech. He started his coaching career in Lubbock followed by returning to his alma mater where he was an assistant for his high school coach.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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