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WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 06/19/2020

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WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 06/19/2020
WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 06/19/2020
WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 06/19/2020

Thank you for joining us..

In a policy that only impacts mississippi... the ncaa will prohibit the state's sports teams from hosting regional games and championships or host sites for women's basketball.

The collegiate sports governing body announced the decision this morning.

It says the state flag is the reason behind the decision.

Ncaa says it expanded its confederate flag policy from championship events from being played where the symbol has a prominent presence.

This will impact baseball, softball, lacrosse and women's basketball.

In a statement ncaa leaders wrote.wrote... there's no place in college athletics or the world for symbols or acts of discrimination and oppression.

The ncaa hosts 90 championships in 24 sports every year.

Mississippi state athletics director john cohen responding to the news with a statement today..

Saying// again, it is unfortunate that our hard working student athletes, staff and coaches could potentially be affected by something beyond their control, but we understand this is bigger than athletics unquote cohen also doubling down on a statement from thursday, saying they support a change to the state flag ole miss athletic director keith carter voicing his support to change the state flag....agreeing with this statement from mississippi's public universities quote today, we are committed to continuing to do our part to ensure mississippi is united in its pursuit of a future that is free of racism and discrimination.

Such a future must include a new state flag... end quote many businesses in starkville say the ncaa's decision could be devastating.

Tournaments mean big money for stores, hotels, and restaurants..

Our quentin smith speaks with a business owner about the impact this could have// he joins us live in the studio with more.

Joey.... john hendricks owns the lodge and says whenever postseason athletics come to msu hundreds of people pour into his store looking to get their hands on some msu merchandise.

But with this ruling.... he knows his store ... along with others in starkville... could be losing out on some big sales they're accustomed to getting this time of year... nat whether it's cheering on the diamond dawgs..... nat or rooting for the women's basketball team..... when mississippi state is in the postseason, the lodge is always on the winning side of things.

"business is wonderful.

Anything that brings a lot of people to town, especially as exciting as baseball has been, it helps the entire town and we are a part of the town."

From t-shirts to popular msu paraphernalia, hundreds of people flood the store cashing in on msu gear for the big game.

But with the new ncaa ruling prohibiting championship games and events, owner john hendricks says it'll be a big blow to business.

"it would hurt us, i think it would hurt the entire community, hotels, restaurants, you name it."

In may of 2019 mississippi state's women's basketball hosted the first two rounds of the ncaa tournament, and men's baseball team hosted the ncaa regionals.

That month alone, sales tax revenue was roughly 604 thousand dollars.

Mayor lynn spruill expects that number to take a big dip if msu isn't able to host these events.

" that's just unacceptable for us to be put in that position over something that should've been changed decades ago."

Spruill says she hopes this latest decision will prompt lawmakers to change the state flag.

"we're at a point now where we are looking at a loss of revenue, a loss of prestige, a potential loss of students who may feel as though this is not the place they want to be.

We also as citizens and as local leaders, have the opportunity to say to our legislatures in their representation of us, these things matter and it is time for us to step up and do something different."

And the money doesn't stop at the starkville city limits..

Many of those visitors stay, shop, and eat in west point and columbus as well..

First look stinger first look summary: summer starts saturday afternoon and it will look and feel like it with highs topping out in the low to mid 90s.

A few spotty storms are possible again on sunday.

Better odds of rain and storms will return next week.

Friday night: clear, quiet, and mild.

Lows in the upper 60s with calm wind.

Saturday: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the low to mid 90s.

Light sw winds 3-7 mph.

A starkville man is arrested in kemper county on a child sex crime.

Simeon weatherby is charged with sexual battery.

Kemper county deputies say weatherby was employed by the kemper county school district when the investigation started last october.

Investigators were informed weatherby was allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a student at kemper county high school.

A probable cause hearing was held last week.

Weatherby was arrested this morning.

His bond was set at 20 thousand dollars.

Weatherby previously worked as an educator in oktibbeha and lowndes counties.

A fugitive is police custody after a standoff in winona this morning.

47-year-old william lee barry has been on the run for about four months after not appearing at a trial date in grenada county.

Investigators found out he was going to a home on sterling avenue in winona.

Winona police, montgomery county deputies, and u.s. marshals went to arrest barry this morning at that home.

Chief investigator dan herod says barry barricaded himself in the attic.

Later, the starkville police department swat team arrived and barry surrendered and was taken to the grenada county jail.

Barry was indicted in grenada county for burglary dwelling, attempted rape, and aggravated assault.

Wipe to vo oktibbeha county deputies are investigating an early morning shooting.

The shooting happened on oktoc road about 2:30 am.

Investigators say people inside two vehicles were shooting at each other.

A juvenile victim was hit by a bullet and later released from a macon hospital.

There were multiple people inside the vehicle with the juvenile.

No arrests have been made in the case, which remains under investigation.

Wipe to gfx lowndes county deputies make arrests in two separate kidnapping investigations.

Dekkar fleming is charged with kidnapping and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Investigators say a person called deputies to report being held against their will by fleming back on june 5th and 6th.

Yesterday, deputies responded to a suspicious person call on jack wiggins road and found fleming walking in the area.

Law enforcement also found him with a vehicle that was reported stolen from lamar county, alabama, where he could face charges.

In an unrelated case, kevin parker is charged with kidnapping, aggravated domestic assault, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and possession of meth precursors.

Deputies were called to old yorkville road on june 14th about a person claiming parker held them against their will.

Parker was arrested two days later deputies responded to another incident and found him.

Meanwhile, investigators continue to search for corey mixon.

He's wanted for aggravated assault and kidnapping.

Parker is out of jail on a 42 thousand dollar bond.

If you know where mixon is call golden triangle crime stoppers.

Take developing story stinger the search will soon be on for a new director for the bancorpsouth arena.

Longtime arena director todd hunt is retiring at the end of june to take a job as a consultant for a nashville based company.

The bancorpsouth arena has experienced record-setting growth under hunt's leadership..

The former chairman of the coliseum commission says hunt will be tough to replace.

" we are the only ten thousand seat arena in a town our size in our country, we don't have a beach, river, for people to come to, we have a town and a building, so his ability to attract kind of acts he has attracted to tupelo has been extraordinary, and we have conferences here constantly."

Reed said hunt was instrumental in planning the current 15 million dollar expansion that will enlarge the conference center add a vip area and other amenities for the arena.

Stinger lowndes county residents are joining in a celebration of freedom..

We check in on today's event and the history behind it communities across the country are celebrating juneteenth today.

It's a holiday that recognizes the end of slavery in the u.s. our stephanie poole joins the celebration and joins us live.

Joey, community members are taking part of juneteenth here in southside columbus.

éé there are jumpers, food, etc .éé i spoke with a few community members who planned the first event 24 years ago.

éé it's a time to remember, reflect, and rejoice.

The juneteenth holiday ties family..friends..and history together.

Leroy brooks and a small committee of volunteers organized the very first juneteenth celebration in columbus.

That was in 1996.

" it was a small affair.

We had a flat bed truck that the entertainers performed on and we had a few vendors."

After years of music, food, and commemorating the past, brooks says this has been a stepping stone to further connect the african american community.

" it's grown tremendously since then in terms of participation.

What we like to pride ourselves in is the fact that we get huge crowds, people from all over the south east, atlanta,tennessee, alabama."

Butt sots " we were like let's try it and we did that first year,and it just took off and everybody loves juneteenth.

It's really a time of family and friends and you get to see so many people coming home strictly for the juneteenth celebration."

Committee member, cindy lawrence says with multiple headlines in the media during this time, she's hopeful more people will educate themselves on the holiday and choose to participate.

" you're hearing and seeing a-lot about it right now with the president making mention of juneteenth, everyone is trying to understand what juneteenth is about.i'd love to see where different races, different cultures all come in.

We all have different booths and we all talk about and what we do and i think it'll be real exciting for people to learn each other."

And next year, they can reflect together.

" we always have to encourage other ethnic groups to try to understand the dynamics of the african american experience.

I think if they understand the dynamics of what people have gone through some of them would be a-lot more sensitive."

Brooks says there will a juneteenth parade tomorrow .

Line up starts at 12:30 and the parade 1pm.

The route will begin on main street and end on 20th street.

éé for now, reporting live in columbus, stephanie poole, wcbi news.

éé stinger wx open summary: summer starts saturday afternoon and it will look and feel like it with highs topping out in the low to mid 90s.

A few spotty storms are possible again on sunday.

Better odds of rain and storms will return next week.

Friday night: clear, quiet, and mild.

Lows in the upper 60s with calm wind.

Saturday: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the low to mid 90s.

Light sw winds 3-7 mph.

Saturday night: variably cloudy and warm.

Lows around 70.

Sunday: partly cloudy with a 20% chance of a few spotty storms. highs in the low to mid 90s.

Next week: scattered showers and storms are possible each and every day with the peak activity most likely tuesday and wednesday.

Temperatures will cool a bit midweek back into the mid 80s.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app summary: summer starts saturday afternoon and it will look and feel like it with highs topping out in the low to mid 90s.

A few spotty storms are possible again on sunday.

Better odds of rain and storms will return next week.

Friday night: clear, quiet, and mild.

Lows in the upper 60s with calm wind.

Saturday: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the low to mid 90s.

Light sw winds 3-7 mph.

Saturday night: variably cloudy and warm.

Lows around 70.

Sunday: partly cloudy with a 20% chance of a few spotty storms. highs in the low to mid 90s.

Next week: scattered showers and storms are possible each and every day with the peak activity most likely tuesday and wednesday.

Stinger local coaches hope sports can be the bridge that brings people together some lessons from the locker room...next in sports... spx open chris, the beauty of sports is that they bring all of us together, from every walk of life tom, hall of fame coach tom landry once said "football is an incredible game.

Sometimes its so incredible, that it's unbelievable."

As calls for change come from every corner of the country i talked with area coaches to see how this "incredible" game works to bring everyone together.

"football is a sport that's all about teamwork, love, and comradery.

An atmosphere that many coaches think our every day world could learn from.

Some of the top high school coaches in the state set out to create an environment that reflects those beliefs.

Jones: "we have a great locker room.

We don't just have black kids.

We have white kids, but we don't hear friction and all that stuff because we treat everybody like that's my brother.

We don't treat him like that's my 'white brother' or that's my 'black brother.'

No, that's my brother."

Starkville head coach chris jones and tupelo head coach ty hardin are both leaders of some of the biggest locker rooms in the state.

Both believe it's important to practice what you preach.

Hardin: "the whole saying actions speak louder than words.

I think that's what culture is.

It's what you do everyday and what people see.

One thing about 13 to 18 year old young men, they can see through anything.

They're the smartest people on earth.

They can see if someone is real and somebody is....."

Jones: "fake, in their words, or however you say it.

They will let you know!

To me, you always want to try to come correct with kids because if you don't come correct with kids, they will correct you."

Athletes across the country are using their voice when it comes to societal issues, including high school athletes.

Coaches know that, and are taking out the time to listen, and have conversations to better understand their athlete's thoughts.

Hardin: "the first day we were together as a team.

June 1st date.

That was the first thing i wanted to address because it's something that you need to and have to."

Jones: "most of it is listening to be honest with you.

To kind of get their opinion on it because i don't want to jump to conclusions and tell them this is how you should feel.

I can't tell you how you should feel.

I want to know how you're feeling first and let me think about it and figure out how i can reach you and help you understand what's going on and understand your pain."

Wins and championships are always the goal when a team steps foot on the gridiron.....but that's not the end all, be all.

The same messages coaches are telling their players to get the win on friday night are the same messages they believe the young men they're molding will carry with them the rest of their lives.

Jones: "you can't deny that you're black and you're white, but what you also can't deny is a person's heart.....it's bigger than just your world or your culture.

To me, that helps you understand this kid who didn't grow up the way you grew up.

Who might not have a meal tomorrow, but you sympathize with that kid because you're in the locker room with that kid and know kids that go hungry because my best friend used to be that way.

Whatever the case may be versus your circle.

All of y'all are rich.

All of y'all have money.

Y'all don't understand what it means to not have.

Versus yeah i'm rich or whatever the case may be but i play with some guys who don't have.

It hurts me to see that they don't have."

"we want to sympathize and understand each other when people need to be understood sometimes.

I think that's the culture i want to create.

Hopefully, when the guys leave me, they're 19, 20, 30 years old, you can have that same effect on you wife.

Your kids.

And guess what they're going to do?

They'll have that effect on another family and another family and another family."

In order to reach the athletes they see every day, both coaches know there's one important key to send their message.

Jones: "we have to adapt because y'all are the future.

Y'all got some bright ideas.

Sometimes we're so set in our old ways and we don't get a chance to truly open up and see 'ok, you might have a point."

Hardin: "if you're not able to adapt and get with the times going on, you'll get left.

Or you're not going to reach the people that are out here.

You're not going to connect with them because you got to adapt to them.

And you have to do what's right by them.

If not, they'll see right through it and they won't lock arms with you at the end of the day."

Once the stadium lights turn off, the bleachers are empty and the game is over, hardin holds firm to this belief about the world... hardin: "this generation of young adults are going to be the people that change it."

In columbus, chris bolton, wcbi sports."

Tune in sunday as we continue our conversation with coaches about representation of minority coaches in mississippi high school last look stinger last look

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