Photo: JSU Head Coach Rick ComegyJackson State’s band, the Sonic Boom of the South, will not be at the game Saturday, according to Jackson State. The band has “temporarily halted performances until allegations of hazing have been investigated,” Jackson State said in a release.
By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
The Southwestern Athletic Conference on Wednesday reprimanded Jackson State coach Rick Comegy for his comments Monday during the league’s weekly football teleconference.
A news release issued by the SWAC office said the reprimand does not include a suspension, but that “future incidents could result in a fine and/or suspension from athletic competition.”
Comegy, on Monday, termed the environment at Southern‘s A.W. Mumford Stadium as “hostile” and said many of his team’s fans “are not taking their families” to the football game.
Southern and Jackson State play here at 6 p.m. Saturday.
On Tuesday, Tony Clayton, a member of the Southern University Board of Supervisors, said he called SWAC interim Commissioner Duer Sharp and asked for Comegy’s comments to be investigated and action taken against Comegy, including a suspension.
“For this particular situation, SWAC policy has determined that a public reprimand is the appropriate course of action,” Sharp said in the statement.
Wednesday’s statement from the conference office said Comegy had “apologized for his comments to Southern University and the City of Baton Rouge.”
Jackson State on Tuesday issued a statement from President Ronald Mason Jr. regretting “any misunderstanding caused.”
Comegy, in his second year at Jackson State, has never coached a game in Mumford Stadium.
Monday, when asked to make a standard introductory statement discussing the upcoming game by the conference’s mediator, SWAC spokesperson William Bright Jr., Comegy talked about what he had been “hearing” about “a somewhat hostile” situation at Mumford Stadium and that Jackson State fans would not come to the game as families.
“I hear a lot of horror stories about going to Southern,” Comegy was quoted as saying in The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger. “They say it’s a real critical situation. I hear we’re not taking our families and kids and stuff like that.”
Comegy declined to give specific examples.
Because of computer difficulties (affecting all of the SWAC’s Web site), the audio from the teleconference has yet to be available on the Internet, Bright said.
Comegy and SU coach Pete Richardson spoke Tuesday.
“I had a chance to talk to him, and sometimes you make statements that come out,” Richardson said. “It’s a situation he made and he’s probably going to regret. I’ll just leave it at that.
“I think it’s going to be a great football game. I don’t want that to distract both sides coming down to see the game. Our administration has done a number of things to make our place safe, and we figure it is safe. Some incidents happened in the past that really weren’t associated with the game itself. I’m quite sure he’ll understand the tradition of the rivalry of this football game.”
Richardson said he was not overly upset by the comments.
“For an individual who hasn’t really been to our stadium to make a statement, you kind of get angry at times,” Richardson said. “But if I listened to everything people say, I’d be angry all the time.”
Meanwhile, Jackson State’s band, the Sonic Boom of the South, will not be at the game Saturday, according to Jackson State.
The band has “temporarily halted performances until allegations of hazing have been investigated,” Jackson State said in a release.
The Sonic Boom and Southern’s Human Jukebox have been known to play for more than an hour after games to the delight of fans.
Coach’s honors
Richardson named wide receiver Gerard Landry (10 catches for 98 yards and one TD), linebacker Corey Ray (seven tackles in his second game) and Anthony Wells (punt block, two tackles) as his offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week for the A&M game.
Who’s the new No. 28?
SU spokesman Kevin Manns presented James Verrett with a No. 28 game jersey, with Verrett’s name on the back before Wednesday’s news luncheon.
Verrett is in his final week of work for WAFB-TV, having been with Channel 9 for 15 years. Verrett is moving to Atlanta to work as the Atlanta Hawks courtside reporter for FSN South and SportSouth.
Basketball starts Friday
The SU men’s basketball team will have “Early Night Madness” — the team’s first practice of the season — at 7:01 p.m. Friday in Seymour Gym.
The event is staged by the school’s student government association. The team will be introduced, go through some drills and then scrimmage.
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