Letter to the Editor

Talk of football is commonplace in Batesville. After all, the University of South Panola is located here. It’s the home of the dual 2010 state and national high school football champions.

However, in my opinion, in the legacy of the South Panola football program there is a lack of respect or caring for the great players that passed through this program after they take off their Tiger uniforms.

Last week the Desoto Appeal published an article about the tremendous support that the City of Horn Lake showed when they sponsored a parade in the honor of Brandon Jackson, one of their former players, who participated in the Super Bowl on Sunday. During the parade, Jackson’s high school jersey was also retired.

I’m not taking anything from anyone else, because South Panola has had numerous players who have experienced the rare opportunity of playing professional football. However, this article brought to mind Deshea Townsend, a two-time Super Bowl  champion who formerly played with the Pittsburg Steelers.

Just food for thought, but, Batesville, what happened to Deshea’s parade and why haven’t the high school jerseys of former South Panola players that have played professional football been retired?

Hopefully I am not the only one who has thought about this; if not, then we need to act on it in the future because, without a doubt, there will be another Super Bowl champion coming by the way of the South Panola Tigers.

Kimario Hentz