Mississippi Today
Ole Miss 28, Georgia 10: This was more a statement than victory
Years from now, we will remember many of the vivid images from a rainy night in Oxford and Ole Miss’ thoroughly convincing 28-10 victory over mighty Georgia:
- Of worthy Ole Miss Heisman Trophy candidate Jaxson Dart limping to the locker room early, the game seemingly over almost before it started. But, no, redshirt freshman Austin Simmons rallied the Rebels, directing a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 7. Defeating a team that has won 53 of its last 56 and two of the last three national championships requires so many huge contributions. None were bigger than what Simmons, just turned 19, did. The lanky kid from Miami stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall, but he played much taller than that Saturday night.
- Of Dart limping back onto the field, his left ankle heavily taped, and providing clutch play after clutch play in a remarkable display of grit and and character. Dart made so many plays, both with his arm and his legs, but the one I’ll remember is when he escaped the Georgia pass rush, somehow getting free while running to his left, turned the corner and rambled 28 yards, clearly favoring the left ankle, before blowing up a Georgia safety who finally – and painfully – made the tackle. It was the biggest play of a third quarter drive that extended the Rebels’ lead to 25-10.
- Of a smothering, ball-hawking Ole Miss defense that came at Georgia quarterback Carson Beck from so many angles he never seemed to get settled. Last year, on a similarly rainy day, Georgia smoked Ole Miss 52-17, gaining 611 yards of total offense, 300 of it on the ground. The Rebels clearly were out-manned, so they went out and got some new men, spending heavily on defense in the transfer portal. Georgia could not block them all. The Rebels signed the aptly named Princely Umanmielen from Florida, Walter Nolen from Texas A&M and Chris Paul from Arkansas, Trey Amos from Alabama and others. And before you call it “the best team money can buy,” remember this: You have to buy the right ones and then you have to coach them. Those new guys have meshed well with returners such as J.J. Pegues and Suntarine Perkins in coordinator Pete Golding’s defense that often looks as if it is playing with 13 guys instead of 11.
- Of a squirrel, who stole the spotlight and stopped the game for nearly a minute in the second quarter, scampering onto the field and darting this way and that. It eventually headed toward the Georgia sidelines, scattering Bulldogs players including the quarterback Beck, who had better luck evading the squirrel than he did the Rebels’ pass rush.
- Of Ole Miss receivers running so free in the Georgia secondary you’d almost swear they must have smelled just awful. We haven’t seen this many receivers consistently get so open since Steve Spurrier was drawing up ball plays at The Swamp in Gainesville. Keep in mind, Ole Miss was doing this without its best receiver Tre Harris – “the best receiver in the country,” Lane Kiffin says – who missed his third consecutive game. For that matter, the Rebs were also playing without starting running back Henry Parrish Jr.
- Of Kiffin, the mastermind of it all, choking up briefly during his postgame interview with ESPN’s Molly McGrath when talking about Dart. We don’t often see that side of Kiffin but you could tell this one meant the world to him. This was the so-called signature victory his otherwise highly successful tenure at Ole Miss has lacked.
- Of Caden Davis’ kicking and Fraser Masin’s punting. As previously typed, you don’t win games like this without multiple, huge contributions, and those must include the kicking game. Davis, who has one of the strongest legs in football, was a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals, including a 53-yarder. Masin, from Brisbane, Australia, punted only twice but one was a Ray Guy-like 65-yard boomer that flipped the field late in the second quarter.
- Of Ole Miss fans rushing onto the field, not once but twice in a wild, raucous celebration that rivaled the one after a similar conquest of Alabama 10 years earlier. The postgame flood of humanity likely will cost the Rebels $250,000, which Ole Miss must pay to Georgia. Maybe, the Bulldogs can use it to help buy an offensive tackle who can block Umanamielen and Perkins on the edge. But then, these days, that probably will cost more than 250 grand.
One thing is certain: Ole Miss should move ahead of Georgia in the playoff rankings. Anyone who witnessed Saturday night’s dismantling of the Bulldogs (397 yards to 245) can testify to that. This wasn’t just a victory, it was a statement.
So what’s next? Ole Miss entered the game ranked No. 16 in the new 12-team playoff rankings. Georgia was No. 3. The Rebels should easily move up into the top 12 and should make the playoffs if they can defeat Florida and Mississippi State to end the regular season. No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Miami and No. 15 LSU all lost Saturday. Ole Miss’ two defeats have come by three points each to Kentucky and LSU. The Rebels really are two plays away from 10-0.
Kiffin said beforehand that to win it all, a team eventually will have to beat Georgia. After watching what happened in Oxford, we can all agree that someone is going to have to beat Ole Miss. Currently, that’s a chore.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Medicaid advisory committee again delayed over concerns about federal law compliance
The next meeting of a committee tasked with advising the Mississippi Division of Medicaid will be delayed further while the agency sorts out a possible discrepancy between state law and new federal regulations, despite the fact that the state is not required to comply with the new rules until July of next year.
The Division of Medicaid requested an official opinion on the conflicting federal and state guidelines for committee appointments from the Attorney General’s office on Nov. 1, according to the agency’s website. The division did not respond to Mississippi Today’s questions about why it sought the opinion.
The committee, made up of doctors and other Medicaid stakeholders, has not met statutory requirements for years. It has not produced mandatory annual reports since 2018 and has not held its required quarterly meetings since December 2023.
Pediatrician Dr. David Reeves chaired the committee from July 2021 to the end of last year. No one told him the committee needed to produce annual reports, and when he followed up about a special meeting planned for January of this year, agency officials told him the committee’s term had expired, Reeves told Mississippi Today.
After committee members at the December 2023 meeting made a motion to recommend a policy that would allow eligible low-income pregnant women to get prenatal care earlier, then-Medicaid Executive Director Drew Snyder and committee member and Gulfport Memorial President and CEO Kent Nicaud said the agency had not had enough time to study the issue and suggested the committee reconvene in January.
But Rep. Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg and chair of the House Medicaid committee, had asked committee members and the Division of Medicaid to offer an opinion on the policy in advance of the 2024 legislative session in August 2023, Mississippi Today reported.
The special meeting called for January never happened. The Legislature eventually passed the policy, called presumptive eligibility for pregnant women, in late February without feedback from the committee.
Committee meetings this year were first stalled because appointments were not finalized until August of this year. Then, the agency canceled an October meeting without rescheduling it to give the division time to transition to new leadership after former Executive Director Drew Snyder announced his resignation.
New federal regulations that require members of the Medicaid Advisory Committee – formerly known as the Medical Care Advisory Committee – to be selected by the director of the Division of Medicaid went into effect in July. But, the new rules are not applicable until 2025 to give states time to make changes.
In contrast, Mississippi law states that at least 11 committee members be appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and Speaker of the House. Members serve four-year terms, concurrent with legislators.
“There is reasonable concern that some or all of the current Committee appointments may not be valid because members were appointed by state officials pursuant to Mississippi statute that may be contrary to federal regulation,” said Deputy Administrator of Health Services Tracy Buchannan in a letter to appointed committee members Nov. 1.
The new federal policy seeks to heighten the role that beneficiaries play in shaping Medicaid programs and policy by mandating the creation of a Beneficiary Advisory Council composed of Medicaid members, their families and caregivers. Some of the members will serve on the Medicaid Advisory Committee.
Mississippi Medicaid spokesperson Matt Westerfield previously told Mississippi Today the Division of Medicaid expects to begin selecting members for the council in coming months.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Despite bribery charges, Mississippi prosecutor, other officials can remain in office
Sweeping corruption charges have rocked local government in Mississippi’s capital city, with potentially significant implications for the local legal system.
During arraignments on Thursday, federal prosecutors charged Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and Jackson City Councilmember Aaron Banks with a string of bribery and corruption charges.
All three pleaded not guilty and were released pending trial.
The charges stem from an undercover sting operation in which FBI agents posed as real estate developers and allegedly provided bribes to win the support of local officials.
Former Jackson City Councilmember Angelique Lee and local businessman Sherik Marve’ Smith previously pleaded guilty to corruption charges as part of plea agreements.
All three officials charged Thursday have influence over the local legal system in Mississippi’s largest city and county. Owens is the county’s prosecutor, with sweeping power over felony prosecutions in a county that has struggled with violent crime, a backlog of cases and a troubled jail.
Lumumba appoints the Jackson police chief. Lumumba has fought against the creation of a state-controlled police force with jurisdiction within certain areas of the city, as well as a special state-controlled court for those areas. His beleaguered legal position may only strengthen the efforts of statewide leaders to exert more control over local policy within the state’s capital city.
Banks, as a councilmember, votes to confirm or reject Lumumba’s appointments, including police chief. The city council also sets the budget for city government departments, including the police department and the municipal court. The Jackson City Council can also impose other policies, including a controversial youth curfew policy that came earlier this year.
Can Owens, Lumumba and Banks remain in office while facing criminal charges?
Yes. While the Mississippi constitution forbids anyone who has been convicted of almost all felonies from holding elected office, nothing requires a person to resign or take a leave of absence from their job before a conviction.
Owens on Thursday indicated no plans to resign. Instead, he said he would fight what he called a “flawed FBI investigation” and said, “I’m going to get back to protecting Hinds County and being the district attorney that you elected me to be.”
Owens’ predecessor, Robert Shuler Smith, faced multiple state criminal prosecutions during his tenure in elected office and never resigned. None of the charges brought against him by then-Attorney General Jim Hood ended in a conviction.
In 2016, then-state Rep. Nick Bain filed a bill that would have created a process to remove local officials from office following an indictment, but that bill never advanced.
The state constitution allows people convicted of manslaughter and state or federal tax crimes to hold elected office.
What happens if Owens resigns?
Owens was most recently elected in 2023 for a four-year term that began January 2024 and will run through the end of 2027. If he’s not convicted before then, he can complete the entire term and even qualify for reelection again. If he were to be convicted or plead guilty before the end of 2027, he would be removed from office.
On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel P. Jordan set a trial date for Jan. 6, but delays in criminal cases are common.
If Owens resigns or is removed with more than six months remaining in his term, Gov. Tate Reeves will appoint someone to replace him until a special election can occur. Special elections to replace a district attorney generally occur as needed in November of each year.
If Owens were to resign now, that means a gubernatorial appointee would serve as Hinds County’s district attorney for a year until a special election in 2025. Any qualifying candidate could run in the special election to fulfill the term, including the gubernatorial appointee.
If Owens were to resign or be removed from office with less than six months remaining in his term, the governor would simply appoint someone to fulfill the term and the winner of the regularly scheduled general election would take office at the beginning of the next term.
What would happen if Lumumba or Banks were to resign or be removed from office?
The current terms of both Lumumba and Bank conclude next year, with municipal general elections set for June and new terms beginning in July.
Lumumba said on Thursday that he will continue to run for reelection. Banks declined to answer questions about whether he intends to remain in office or to seek another term.
If either Lumumba or Banks were to resign with less than six months remaining in their term, state law requires that the Jackson City Council would replace either with interim appointments who would serve the remaining months of the terms.
If either man were to resign or be removed before the end of 2024, the City Council would have to order a special election to fill the vacant posts.
Can voters recall elected officials in Mississippi?
Mississippi does have an obscure and very roundabout recall process, but only for county officials, despite several unsuccessful efforts to expand the law. State Sen. Jeremy England, a Republican from the Gulf Coast, has filed some of those bills, and said he did not think a district attorney could be recalled under the current law, but they could have been recalled under a bill he has filed before.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1914
Nov. 12, 1914
Civil rights leader William Monroe Trotter led a delegation that confronted President Woodrow Wilson.
Raised in Hyde Park, Massachusetts, Trotter had more education than the president. He had graduate and postgraduate degrees from Harvard University, where he became the first Black member of Phi Beta Kappa.
“New Englanders liked to talk as if ‘the Negro problem’ afflicted only the South,” The New Yorker wrote of him, “but Trotter looked around his beloved Boston and saw segregation in the city’s churches, gyms, and hospitals. This ‘fixed caste of color’ meant that ‘every colored American would be a civic outcast, forever alien in public life,’ he wrote.”
In 1901, he started The Guardian with the motto: “For every right, with all thy might.” The newspaper called itself “an organ which is to voice intelligently the needs and aspirations” of Black Americans.”
Both he and his wife, Deenie, published The Guardian each Saturday, only missing two issues: “The Trotters had no children and did not want any; The Guardian was their child.”
In their pages, Trotter leveled vicious attacks against Booker T. Washington and his accommodation policies, calling him “the Great Traitor.” When Trotter began to question Washington at a gathering of 2,000, a fight broke out, which became known as “the Boston riot,” and he was arrested, spending 30 days in jail. The wealth his family once enjoyed turned to poverty because of the money he sunk into his newspaper.
“It has cost me considerable money, but I could not keep out of it,” he wrote. “I can now feel that I am doing my duty and trying to show the light to those in darkness and keep them from at least being duped into helping in their own enslavement.”
He turned his attention to political candidates he felt would support African Americans and began backing Wilson, whom he met and shook hands with in 1912 “with great cordiality.”
A year later, he and Ida B. Wells and other civil rights leaders expressed dismay over the reinstitution of Jim Crow and even shared a chart that showed which federal offices had begun separating workers by race.
In 1914, Trotter and other Black leaders appeared at the White House with 20,000 signatures, demanding an end to Jim Crow in federal offices. The leaders told Wilson they felt betrayed because they had supported him in the election, and he had since reinstituted segregation in the federal government that included separate toilets and dismissed high-level Black appointees.
“Only two years ago you were heralded as perhaps the second Lincoln,” Trotter said, “and now the Afro-American leaders who supported you are hounded as false leaders and traitors to their race.”
He reminded the president — who had been busy championing his “New Freedom” program to restore fair-labor practices — that he had promised to aid Black Americans in “advancing the interest of their race in the United States. … Have you a ‘New Freedom’ for white Americans and a new slavery for your Afro-American fellow citizens? God forbid!”
Wilson responded that “segregation is not humiliating but a benefit” and that he had put the practice back in place because of friction between Black and white clerks. Trotter challenged this claim, calling Jim Crow humiliating to Black workers.
Wilson stuck to his guns, telling Trotter that if he and other Black Americans think “you are being humiliated, you will believe it.” The exchange lasted 45 minutes, and the president challenged Trotter’s “tone” as offensive: “You have spoiled the whole cause for which you came.”
The civil rights leader responded, “I am pleading for simple justice. If my tone has seemed so contentious, why has my tone been misunderstood?”
The argument landed on the front page of The New York Times. During World War I, the State Department refused to give Trotter a passport to Paris. To get around the restriction, he took a job as a cook on a freighter to France, and when he began reporting on the plight of Black soldiers, French newspapers shared his reporting, and he spoke there about discrimination against African Americans.
When Trotter returned home, he was welcomed by 2,000 supporters. He unsuccessfully championed a section added to Wilson’s 14 Points for peace that would say, “The elimination of civil, political, and judicial distinctions based on race or color in all nations for the new era of freedom everywhere.”
Trotter helped found the Niagara Movement, a forerunner of the NAACP. The civil rights organization adopted his proposal to address segregated transportation as a grievance, but the group rejected his proposal to make lynching a federal crime.
He championed cases the NAACP was slower to pursue, including Jane Bosfield, a Black woman was told she could only work for a Massachusetts hospital if she ate separately from her white fellow workers.
When the racist movie, ‘The Birth of a Nation’, appeared on a screen, the national NAACP tried to raise money for a rival film to counter those lies, but Trotter believed in direct action. His protests succeeded in shutting down a play that was the basis for the movie, which depicted Klansmen as heroes. After failing to halt the debut of the film in Boston, he teamed up with Roman Catholics to get a revival showing canceled.
His tactics were later used by the modern civil rights movement “to integrate lunch counters, buses, schools, and other essential spaces,” The New Yorker wrote. And his mindset “incubated the politics of Malcolm X and of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.”
A multicultural center at the University of Michigan bears Trotter’s name, and his first home in Dorchester is now a National Historic Landmark. He made the list of the 100 Greatest African Americans.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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