Jackson Jambalaya

What a joke a bunch of short guys throwing there money around! HA and Heaf jank trailer man started this

What better way to piss off the families actually paying the tuition freight there than to import a bunch of new starters to take the positions of the other kids who have been there all along.

So I pay $20K a year for 13 years, am a loyal, dedicated student, athlete and family, and get to my senior year and my turn to start, but some jughead high school coach and misdirected daddies decide to get some pub school kid, pay his tuition and more and I am spose to say well ok?

That is how college is boys!

Ha ha

That’s what you mouthbreathers get for worshipping the most retarded “game” on the planet (and its players)

Their.

Hartfield’s hired help doesn’t stand a chance.

10.33 nails it, except jughead coaches and “greedy assed idiot daddies” would be more accurate IMO.

10:07, Heaf jank trailer man didn’t start this, but he sure took it to another level. And I hear buying his boy a football team at Hartfield didn’t work out for ole Heaf.

Football obsession turns your brain to mush.

JA, Prep, Hartfield and MRA are in a recruiting war in football and other sports to a lesser extent. The MAIS carves up their schools into a million divisions to give as many other schools as possible a chance to win a ‘state championship.’ It’s a joke.

Not that most people in Mississippi take MAIS championships seriously. It’s not a state championship when you only have to beat 3 schools all located in your metro area. State championships are when you have to beat teams on the other end of the state you never see outside the playoffs. Except for the recruiting super powers, most MAIS schools would be better off joining MHSAA, like Presbyterian Christian in Hattiesburg is doing.

It's the new DEI strategy.

"...and the times, they are a'changin'..."

The “quarterback competition”between the returning starter grandson of a board member emeritus and the public school senior transfer will be entertaining. The coach will fold like a lawn chair

Let's please Make America Godly Again....money has truly ruined the soul of everything good. It's just become unreal....and idiot adults are behind "for the children".....my ass.

And there's going to be some fights in the locker room once some of the players fully understand what happened.

"JA Public School" needs to bring back the likes of Peter Jernberg ,Keith Branning, and Bobby West, when Sheffield Dr. was special ! It's sad to see the desperate "WIN at ALL COST" mentality. The coaches and administration have lost complete control.

- Jackson Academy class of 91' alumni

Hillcrest did this back around 2004 and that was the end of Hillcrest. You don’t pay all that tuition to sit on the sidelines and watch other kids play.

NIL is alive and well at the high school level. Somebody forgot to tell Clinton.

Everyone seems to have their focus on sports and waste their time and money burning out their children on travel ball for what? They won’t play in college and you’ve taught your children that sports and popularity are more important than education and they’ll end up another generation of useless insurance and fill-in-the-blank salesmen stuck reliving their HS glory days. It’s sad.

Capitalism and competition. 2 things we love about America. Now just work harder and compete with the kid standing next you. If you can’t compete, ride the bench. No one owes you anything.

Prep doesn't have recruits.

These new kids pay tuition too, it’s just different than what most everyone else pays. It’s based off a very advanced formula that takes into account your income and your child’s projected ypc, obp, and ppg

JA has a former NFL coach as their head football. MRA used to be the big recruiters, and now Hartfield has egregiously taken their place. Prep is still Prep. One of JA's transfers actually came from MRA.

These private schools have found a loophole in the private school league's rules, that say something along the lines of they won't take athletic prowess in account on their administration of the aid programs. Well, the loophole is finding rich benefactors who are patrons, and having them foot the bill. No governing body can stop a man from doing what he wants with his money, is their logic. Thus the loophole why recruiting is going crazy.

The last thing people want is to pay tens of thousands of dollars to remove their kids from public school just to sit with public school “athletic scholars” that bring nothing but the possibility of an increase in meaningless high school sports stats to a school. They bring little if any positives to the learning environment and student body.

Coach 7:43 am, then why not just replace all of the football team with the best players money can buy? Oh, you couldn’t get away with that, could you?

FYI - capitalism is if you work hard and can afford to pay private school tuition, your child can avoid the public school BS. It’s not a bunch of dip s__t coaches buying a football team with a handful of idiot daddies making sure their boy still has a position.

"No one owes you anything."

Except they are paying private high school tuition. So, yeah, they are "owed something."

This is what it looks like when when winning, by any means necessary, is the only thing that matters to people.

If I’m JA I get ahead of any potential public to private / private to public transfer rules & buy those ReNew apartments next door.

Make them the athletic dorms and families can move there “closer” to the school to avoid having to sit out

You’ve got to be thinking ahead or you’ll get left behind, amirite?

Just wait until valuables start missing in the locker room-

Ten-year moratorium on organized sports. Now!

That’d give you mouthbreathers time to find more worthwhile, constructive hobbies.

Why not focus on something that matters? Football is a game, school should be for learning how to build yourself, your skillset, community and a desire to continue learning throughout one's life.

Maybe if we put more attention towards math and science our workforce could be attractive for companies to bring jobs here. Tyrone's running back foozball skills have no relevance in the real world.

IMG Showcase Academy of Jackson Academy. Who knew MAIS trophy meant so much? Sports is all about the coaches and their ego's. They want to be recognized by records, or future employment prospects. The last thing they actually care about is the kids. Win! Win! Win! Personally, I've always been more impressed with coaches who win with less and develop. No one thinks it's coaches' fault when kids can't hit the baseball or catch the pass or dunk the basketball. Parents aren't dumb. We understand that most kids are average to good, not D1 athletes. Most have no desire to play sports at next level. They just want a chance to play

Will be interesting to see the decline in interest amongst the students/parents. Personally, I won't be attending any more games

This is the nightmare situation for Ennis Proctor, the (former) long time executive director of the Mississippi High School Activities Association. Proctor was a believer in public high school sports and was often criticized for opposing private school attempts to creep into public school athletics. Since he retired (in 2011, I think) the wall between public and private has slowly eroded and now we are seeing the result.

Maybe the displaced, under-sized, moderately-athletic, melanin-challenged young males at JA could transfer to, say, an East Rankin where they will be welcomed with mostly open arms. The displaced East Rankiners can then transfer to Sylva-Bay and repeat the transfer-displacement cycle until, eventually, Heidelberg Academy ends up with enough displaced transfer players to actually field a team.

Yes they do — granted not as many as JA

The High School Portal and NIL has been busy…. If you can’t win it, buy it!!!!

I love sports as much as anyone, but I cannot imagine building a career or business, setting my family up for generational wealth, and giving money so a high school football team can better. It just doesn't make sense.

Dr. Proctor was considered a good executive director of the MHSAA but his worldview of high school athletics was stuck in the 1980s. Most Alabama private schools joined the AHSAA in 1994. Arkansas in 1998. We're past the point of no return and the MHSAA remains antiquated and the MAIS is controlled by four schools.

If Prep doesn’t recruit it should join MHSAA. Prep leaving MAIS would be a huge blow to the league.

JA’s new Headmaster and the board need to be fired! They have ruined this amazing school and will not listen to parents complaining. This summer alone 4 amazing families who pay have left. Hundreds of thousands of dollars gone for students who don’t pay a dime or will ever give back to the school. Do not send your kids here if you want them to play sports or have a safe environment.

BS. They don’t pay a dime. A JA supporter pays it on their behalf, and there is nothing wrong with that.

This goes on nationwide in most states. The top 25 high school football rankings consist of mostly Catholic and private schools. Look at Newman high where the manning attended high school in New Orleans or st Thomas in Miami or many in California that produce loads of heisman candidates. MUS and Christian brothers in Memphis too.

Evangel Christian, anyone?

There are several factors in play here.

Who made this happen? Shay Hodge serves essentially as a recruiting coordinator for JA, and Head Coach David Duggan is a former professional and college coach. Athletic Director Brant Walker is looking the other way. JA's administrative leadership turns over about every two or three years, so they're largely a nonfactor. The rubber will hit the road when, or if, the board decides to put a stop to this. I wouldn't hold my breath on that one because ...

Why is this happening? JA has not won a significant game in years because it hasn't had enough talent to match up with Prep, Hartfield, and MRA on the football field. The coaches place winning above all else, and without significant ties to the area, school, or existing players, they will recruit until the money runs out. When the MAIS reversed its ruling in the Hartfield matter a couple of years ago, it opened Pandora's Box. Adding fuel to the fire is JA basketball. Two years ago, JA allowed the Williams brothers to attend free of charge, despite their former professional basketball player father having more than enough money to pay. JA won the state championship, giving the school the sweet taste of success. Much like a drug dealer giving that first shot for free, that basketball success hooked JA.

How is this happening? There are three components. First, JA - like all Jackson-area private schools - will reduce tuition on a need basis. So, while everyday students will pay nearly $17K per year, "recruits" from lower income families may only owe half that amount or less. Second, a booster or group of boosters agree to cover the tuition. Third, and this is unique, JA has a substantial endowment. If there isn't enough off-the-books booster money available, endowment funds are used.

Is it legal under MAIS rules? There are two ways to answer this. In a pure letter of the law sense, probably not. The rules do not allow schools to recruit players (and schools include their boosters) and then cover tuition solely for athletic purposes. These kids aren't coming to JA for any other reason but to play sports. However, as the Hartfield matter showed, the MAIS will not enforce its own rules for fear of litigation (read: costs) and because the Jackson schools are now recognized as among the best in the state.

All of the Jackson area MAIS schools have done some version of this to varying degrees. MRA is the OG, but has gone away from it in recent years, largely because school leadership stopped it. Hartfield is the worst recent offender, but lost its largest benefactor. It remains unclear whether they can sustain. Prep has had a player here and there, but nothing like the widescale recruiting at Hartfield. JA saw Hartfield and raised the bet.

As with most things, the money will dictate whether this continues or increases. If boosters with enough money and motivation want to pull their kids from JA, that will matter. If boosters with enough money and motivation want to hire attorneys to go after the MAIS for not enforcing its rules, that'll matter. Until then, things will not change. Recruiting will only worsen.

Coaches can’t afford to do that. But many alums and parents can and do. It’s stupid, but legal. And common.

These scholars-athletes bring an important voice to the independent schools and play only for the love of the game and a good education. A broad based liberal education at such a storied institution as JA should be afforded to this historically disadvantaged set of young gentlemen. In accepting them into the JA family, JA will be enriched by their stories of their lived experiences. In no way is JA trying to put a child’s game ahead of education and academic merit. It simply is not about the new pipeline for NIL greed filtering down to high school. It is about strengthening the long history of private school excellence in developing young men of character!! Any suggestion to the contrary is both racist and ill informed.

Just got some scuttlebutt from the Clinton side. Clinton coach left and AD promoted the DC to the job. Just one problem. Clinton is not known for its stellar defense. Players were fed up. From what I understand, the players transferring are all good students. Heck, one source said the qb could probably get academic scholarships to college. Clinton also lost a pretty good wide receiver to Brandon last week as well.

Just because some kids from Clinton come over doesn’t make the place dangerous all of a sudden. I’d be a lot more concerned about the neighborhood around JA than the kids commuting from Clinton.

Easy fix. Private school athletes must sit out a year, or physically changed residency closer to the school, when transferring to another private school. Public school transfers can play immediately. MAIS should adopt the same policy for public school kids as private school kids.

Obviously, there are ways around this too, but it should blunt some of the issues.

As to Prep, they have recruited some, but nothing on the level of Hartfield, JA or MRA.

Prep also does not use the 8th grade “athletic holdback” deployed by MRA and Hartfield.

For decades, great players have transferred to Madison Central from many mikes away. And mom somehow got an administrative job in the district. You don’t think recruiting goes on in public schools?

@9:08 - While your tongue is planted firmly in your cheek, as you probably know, this quite literally was the Hartfield defense. How dare you suggest that it violates MAIS rules when a multimillionaire booster covers the tuition, food, and housing for 7 D1 players, and when we hire a local youth football coach without any prior high school experience? Racists. All of you.

9:06AM with a logical and well informed post in a sea of mouth breathers, well done sir

One thing I don't seem to understand. Why would kids who started and were impactful players on a team who plays better competition week-to-week want to come to a team who plays the following schools??:
Leake Academy
Bayou Academy
Magnolia Heights
Pillow Academy
Oak Forest
St. Joseph (Greenville)

These will all be blow-out wins. If these kid's families want them to perform and show-out (so they can get out), wouldn't it make more sense to play better competition? Wouldn't college coaches like to see players compete against Madison Central, Northwest Rankin, Brandon, etc. rather than some light-melanin, pencil thin kid from Bayou?

Maybe the highlights will look better shedding tackles and body slamming kids in the turf when the score is 62-0 at start of 2nd half

JA Jive Academy

Other schools should avoid scheduling JA when possible.

Yes, they will be blowout wins, and they are for the other Jackson area schools too. But it doesn't matter. JA already has multiple D1 commits, and Hodge pumping them up.

I am curious to know what Greenville Christian has to say about all of this?

Hartfield's recruiting fund has shrunk substantially starting last year. Their "Beat Prep" shirts are cute and all since that is all they really care about anyway.

Truth is, whether JA wants to acknowledge it or not, they are in a tough spot. That area is dwindling and has changed substantially. They are not far from dying on the vine so to speak. How long they can hang on is the big question.

I don't understand how people can put this much money into high school football as a spectator sport. College, I understand, but high school stadiums aren't exactly seating 60,000 people. Is it really that entertaining to some people??

By far the best thread of the month! So many good subtopics playing here.

1. Race- we all know it’s always a factor in Mississippi. Hell, JA basically started so some people could get away from these same people that are infiltrating. Times are changing though. Little Mary Elizabeth actually thinks Jamal’s cornrolls are cute.

2. Economics- people have been paying their way for years. Now some people are getting the same education for little or nothing. Just because they are athletic. Whew! Juicy stuff. And rich people paying their way tuition for them, it’s a movie!

3. Competition- Prep got a stud from Meridian right now on the baseball team. They had Ealey from Carthage. They dominated! MRA and the basketball recruiting is legendary. Hartfield came up big. Now JA getting in the mix. Poor Saint Joe, one year and the doctor left and took his kid. And the recruits left too. Now that the rabbit got the gun at JA, it ain’t fun.

4. Politics- school choice is here to stay. Soon the state will pay the tuition for these same kids. Conservatives love this idea, but somehow hates it when athletics are involved. Maybe they just want little Johnnie to play against other little Johnnie’s. No way is Jamal supposed to use his voucher to put Johnnie on the bench! Segregation mindset is alive and well!

Do you know the true meaning of racist or just like throwing around buzz words you hear?

What a great way to teach these kids that enough money and shady deals can get you wherever you want to go. No wonder the country is going to shit.

Yes, there is a difference among the private schools in the area, and one of the most noticeable is academic performance. Prep is a true college preparatory school with a strong focus on academics, which is consistently reflected in its test scores. That’s not to say the other schools aren’t good, but their priorities tend to differ. JA, Hartfield, and MRA often place more emphasis on athletics and school activities, which can sometimes come at the expense of academic rigor. Sports and extracurriculars should enhance a student’s overall experience—not define their education. The primary mission of any school should be to offer a challenging academic environment, not to fill student-athlete slots by recruiting from other schools.

Who knows maybe their mom is getting a kindergarten teaching job to avoid the transfer rules?

So are the new kids transferring to Prep taking long time Prep students spots on the field?

Prep is passing out Teacher Assistant jobs like Halloween Candy…..

Prep doesn't recruit? So i'm assuming that Jerrion Ealy just wandered over to Flowood from Carthage? Konnor Griffin just wandered over to Flowood from Forrest? Kevin Roberts just wandered over to Flowood from Meridian? Give me a break.

What about the kids that aren’t top-tier athletes who now won’t have a chance to play?

There is much more to gain/learn from team sports than just a potential source of income for an handful of gifted athletes.

What about character-building? Anyone who doesn’t believe that’s a real benefit of playing team sports, didn’t participate in team sports.

First, any student transferring to Prep must pass an entrance exam, so academics—not athletics—remain the gatekeeper. While it’s possible that a few borderline test scores have been accepted in the past, those students are still required to meet the school’s academic expectations in order to remain eligible to participate. As for staffing concerns, the idea that a handful of teaching positions filled by parents would significantly impact football roster spots doesn’t hold up. Prep maintains a rigorous academic environment, and no one is playing without earning their place both in the classroom and on the field.

10:19 said, "1. Race- we all know it’s always a factor in Mississippi. Hell, JA basically started so some people could get away from these same people that are infiltrating."

Think again pal. JA was founded in 1959, way before desegregation occurred.

I worked in the MHSAA for 40 years. The MAIS schools learned about recruiting from the MHSAA.

Fake football, for the fake rich wannabes in a few private institutions where most of the kids are too wimpy to be playing sports.

We've decided as a society that paying amateur athletes is something we want to do. No surprise that its making its way to the affluent high schools. We're going to get what we deserve on this.

With the onset of easy sports gambling, the Memphis - UTSA stuff is the tip of the iceberg. Memphis players were sending their playbooks to UTSA players and betting on the game via Tennessee's lax mobile sports betting.

What kind of character building is developed by teaching your kid to tuck and run every time a little adversity arises?

That’s just three athletes who transferred to Prep—not exactly a full roster overhaul like you see at some other schools. Let’s not pretend we’re running a farm team over here.

Hartfield: home of the 4.67 GPA and a 19 on the ACT. Academic rigor indeed. And those of you who think those school choice funds will help you afford Prep, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. Only the schools that need those funds will be an option. Prep, St. Andrews maybe MRA will be raising their tuition to match the voucher amount. All of the other MAIS schools will be buyers for the tax money.

10:33 pm post is verbatim what former city councilman Ben Allen posted on Facebook last night too.

I went to JA. I now make 7 figures and have 2 prep grads working for me.

4 of Prep’s 8 position starters on their 2024 baseball were transfers from JA.

Not a single starter on their championship basketball team was enrolled at prep in the 8th grade.

Call it fake football if you want—but at least they’re being prepared for the academic rigor ahead, not just grabbing a diploma and heading straight to a job site. And yes, I know there are plenty of wealthy plumbers, electricians, and heavy equipment guys out there. But most families choose private school because they want their kids surrounded by like-minded parents who are focused on a bigger future—not just Friday night lights. You might call them wimpy athletes, but they’ve got more grit and emotional intelligence than most—and they’re not being raised to mirror emotionally immature adults stuck in the same cycle.

11:41, they all have entrance exams. MRA enforced them because athletes have been turned away. Supposedly JA let kids slide who couldn’t pass but who knows the truth.

Didn’t Jackson Academy kick a prominent family out of the school for just making a PDF file with these kids on it???? Now the school is actively promoting it???? I am confused

I can smell the perfume and expensive jeans with the jewels on the pockets of the boosters from here!

Wow KINGFISH you really hit a nerve with this one! Some great responses and all are pretty much right on target. Well done!

There are off the books recruiters who "coach" these kids as well and get kickbacks for bringing them to private schools. We have seen some teammates get swindled this way as well and then wind up with less playing time than they would have had at our highly competitive public school. I see parents falling for it all of the time. Move their kid to play private school ball which largely does not translate to the competitive nature in college.

MAIS RULE - if you transfer to another MAIS school then family must move or a parent has to be employed full time by school. One player listed in article was not recruited but transferred willingly, is paying full tuition ($17k) and mom is taking a full time job.

Desegregation began with the Armed Forces in 1947. It was decreed for schools in 1954. Every segregation academy in Jackson was founded in 1947 or later. Every one. Disingenuous crap to say otherwise but those are the weasel words that some try.

JA's headmaster is fully qualified to issue these recruits a new iPad.

Prep has had far more recruits than those listed above and don’t forget, Prep’s pursuit of the St. Joe kid who went to Hartfield a couple years back is largely what helped Hartfield beat the wrap. Hartfield had receipts……

JA cannot and should not publish them, but the grades of these transfers is a shame. One teacher quit in protest. These kids are taking summer school classes to remain eligible. They are not receiving the high-quality education people think they are. My kids have jokingly told me they are surprised the football players come back after Christmas.

The families who left JA were toxic. The only thing lost there is an overwhelmingly sense of entitlement, sideline rage and closeted racism.

I wonder if oil money is enough to earn a starting job? It was last year, but the competition wasn't a bought-and-paid-for recruit.

Wait until you see JA's baseball team this year. 8 of 9 starters will be public school kids that transferred to JA this year or last.

6 athletes have enrolled at JA this year for their senior year. Ask yourself, why would kids leave strong 7A public schools that play against the state's best competition to play at JA for their senior year? Soccer, volleyball, basketball, football, baseball - JA recruits for all of them. The recruiting happening on Sheffield is out of control.

The real question is how is JA paying for all of these kids? It cost nearly $20k/yr to attend JA. Even with tuition assistance of 50 or 70%, $6-10k per recruit is still allegedly owed. There simply aren't enough parents dumb enough to pay for that many recruits in nearly every sport. How is their tuition paid? It's past time for MAIS to step up and do their job.

Unfortunately JA will never be the school it once was. Too many good families (5 this summer alone and more in the works) are jumping ship and being replaced by recruits with no loyalty to JA. Here today gone tomorrow. The families leaving combined with the school's location will lead to the school's demise.

How did this happen? To understand this, you have to understand how JA operates. The school is controlled by a few individuals (the Almighty) with little to no accountability or transparency. Everything is done secretively. No one is accountable for anything. Weak board members are hand picked by the Almighty not based on qualifications or expertise but on whether they will rock the boat or question decisions made by the Almighty. The end result - a weak/ineffective board and a clueless IT guy as Head of School. Of course, both picked by the Almighty.

JA's current debacle should not be a surprise to its leadership and board. Many families repeatedly voiced concerns about what was happening, but the Almighty thought they knew best and refused to change course. As JA's decline continues, the Almighty will realize and understand it was their arrogance and inflated self worth that ultimately led to the demise of what was once a great school. Sad.

Duggan can't develop players. He can call plays with talent, but he can't get the most out of his players. To his credit, he acknowledges his weakness. So he's landed at a school that will purchase the "equipment" to win. I'm speaking directly to these families. You are being used. And if your kid is failing and not taking advantage of the academics, you are not gaining anything.

Emergency double secret JA board meeting in 3, 2, 1...

Doesn’t both on Nancy New”s daughter in laws work there? Could there be left over TANF funds being used to pay for the Clinton recruits?

A majority of these posters is probably the nuts pushing school choice legislation. Hey, guess what? You get your legislation and you get a voucher to watch your kid sit the bench!

The MAIS will get so "mad" about this that they will punish a school like Winston Academy, North Delta, or Cathedral to send a message!!!

At some point Kingfish is going to shut this down or else there will be a fist fight at the CCJ. If it involves tennis skirts, I'll buy a ticket.

Showchoir is now performing Motown.

So many of these parents at JA act like they have money. Truth is, if grandparents didn't pay tuition, a boatload of these kids couldn't attend.

Best thread since this hot tennis coach from the same general area.

JA works very hard to hold its standard and align with its mission statement. These students who are coming to JA are wonderful young men who make excellent grades. There’s so much misinformation in this thread. It just really makes one sad. The school does an excellent job working with young minds, building character, as well as educating and preparing them for the future.
It is heartbreaking to continue to see so much division over race related issues, especially in 2025

Not true- a lot of energy is put into testing at JA

I am hearing the previous starting quarterback, now the back-up, was seen at St Andrews earlier this week!

JA Head of School - someone please check his qualifications! Who knew being an IT person you could get promoted to being a Headmaster over a 6A Private school with no prior experience. But , oh wait he is the puppet child for the board. JA will be gone like Hillcrest! Horrible leadership. Stockholders need to call a meeting to overthrow the board.

Cam someone please explain how JA is better for showcasing athletic abilities than Clinton? 3/4 of their schedule is cupcakes. Does it make look faster on film when they run by the Pillow Academy kids on field? I don't get it. These kids from Clinton are taking a big step backwards in competition. Maybe it's Pimp Daddy Shay Hodge pimpin and hoeing got em excited?

@4:14 I totally agree with you. As being a recent graduate from there, I had a wonderful experience. Every everyone’s concern is why our seniors and juniors coming. If they wanted this experience, they should’ve come earlier. They are only coming for athletic reasons. That’s not fair to my friends that are still there.

JA was founded by Loyal Bearss in 1959 because the Jackson Public School System was moving away from phonics as a foundation for learning to read. He founded the school in a house on Northview with 10 families that believed in the method of reading, (which relied on the use of phonics) that Mr. Bearss originated and promoted. Mr. Bearss' two daughters were also students at the school, which later moved to its present location. Until recent years, the same reading method originated by Bearss was used in the JA preschool as the foundation for its reading program.

So, despite the current issues revolving around athletics, Jackson Academy, unlike Prep, MRA, and the Council Schools (one of which later morphed into Woodland Hills Academy and maybe one into Hillcrest) was not founded in response to the integration/forced busing issue. St. Andrews' founding also preceded the era of integration/forced busing, having been founded in 1947.

Will be interesting to see how this affects enrollment in the future. For parents of 6/7/8th graders who have young boys hoping to see their kid play high school athletics, they may now be reconsidering JA. In short term, the morale at JA will take a hit. Can see attendance/engagement at sporting events decreasing, but I would be more worried about long term effects. Good luck JA. Hope it's worth it to see football team win 75-0 versus 48-14. For the transfers coming in, I think you will find the atmosphere at games uninspiring and the competition less competitive. Take advantage of the education because you're only 1 ligament tear away from being a "was". And, from the looks of the players I've seen, 5'10" wide receiver, and 5'8" QB, you may have difficult time being "that" guy in college. Enjoy your infamy now. Good luck to you

JA began changing when Joe Maxwell worked at the school & said “we must start fishing outside our own pond”. And then they did

"JA works very hard to hold its standard and align with its mission statement." Ahh, nooo, not really. However, they truly believe in the slogan "All in." As in, everybody can come, some will pay, some will play, and at the end of the day, we all in.

At what point do paying JA parents (even parents of non-athletes) get tired of reading this stuff on Jackson Jambalaya?

It’s amazing the comments on this thread knowing some of you are front and center at Christ United and Pine Lake every Sunday.

@4:14 keep telling yourself that.

JA, for many years, had a problem with nepotism, both in its faculty and its Board. And favor, both with regard to faculty and students, when not always deserved, was a result. Academic excellence in standards and methods, as well as objective outcomes, regardless of "who" you are, should be the goal of any teaching facility. When it is not, it will be noticed and not tolerated by those who are paying top dollar for their children's education.

So JA eroded the trust of, and lost, some of those who may have otherwise been their "loyal base." That, together with a shift in population to the MRA area, Prep's opening of a lower school, not to mention the addition of a high school to Christ Covenant, has crippled JA's ability to maintain/increase enrollment. Sports, via recruitment, may now be their method of maintenance/expansion.

All that money spent on travel ball to exotic places like Conyers, Georgia or Jackson, TN...how does it feel to know it was all wasted? The entire youth sports apparatus around here is shady af.

JA played 8th graders and 7th graders together last year against the other 7th grade teams. Haha none of these schools have any integrity left. Hope yall enjoy kayfabe.

2:07 Don't know much about history. Desegregation did not hit Mississippi until 1970. In 2:07's alternate universe the United States Air Force Academy is equal to Jackson Public Schools.

5:12 should know better than to post facts and reason. Facts and reason are not tolerated by the race baiters trolling this website.

The article didn’t mention the schools that the four superstars transferred from. Are they local transfers?

How easily you refer to this phenomenon as 'transferring'.