Jackson Jambalaya

Mrs. Voyles is right. We need more mothers like her in America. Fuck your soft feelings if you disagree. You send your kids to private school (and pay many many thousands of dollars) so they can escape the human filth and animals that are plaguing public schools. Why would you pay lots of hard earned money to send your kids to a glorified public school? All in the name of football? JA won their championship. It’s time to end this whole ordeal and get back to being an academically superior school that has a mile long waitlist. Football just does not matter. It really doesn’t.

So, Eddie’s response to the email JA now claims was “racist”—and relies on as the focal point of its defense—was:

• Thanks and appreciation for sending it
• A commitment to addressing her concerns
• An admission that JA can do better
• Complete understanding of her feelings

Hmmm…

JA is the politician in a debate that slings mud at his opponent using half-truths and deception because he can't defend his record. It happens in politics but not in education. For a private school to use these slimy, immoral tactics against the Voyles or any other family is a disgrace. JA should be ashamed and embarrassed.

This whole situation is such a joke. The Voyles reek of entitlement and self-righteousness. It is laughable that they’re claiming JA is conducting a smear campaign when that is literally what they are also doing.

The Voyles need to simply move on. This is not a good look for them. No matter how you try and spin it, Mrs Voyles’ email is atrocious. Good luck to the next school they attend.

Does anyone care about what the Voyles kid "C.V" is suffering through? This kind of crap is what's leading young people to believe they can "sue" every corrupt bureacracy, every time they don't get their way. That's not the real world. This is all about the mother and father missing the opportunity to role-model for their son how to have the grit to get through when things don't go your way, and still succeed. You've got a Narcissistic "Mama/Papa Bear" showcasing their exaggerated sense of selves, while using their poor son - who likely just expressed as anyone would "it's just so unfair" that got this ball rolling. But now he's likely mortified by it all. Hang tough C.V.

The whole complaint is about the fact that their son who had been there all his life was most likely bumped off a starting position by a transfer who doesn’t pay any tuition. I understand their complaint but it’s a win at all costs mentality. South Panola moved parents into their district so the children could play. Jerrion Ealy at Prep, from Carthage, lived with a family in Jackson. MRA recruits two or three basketball players a year.
If a family has a child who comes to school say in the 4th grade and has been there 5 years I have no problem with that. Life is tough and the kids and parents better realize that just because you have been at a job 3 years your not entitled to become the president next year.

I hope the school disciplinary records and interviews with the teachers of the “student” athletes come out in discovery.

JA won their league title. They had what, 4-6 schools in their league? MAIS does not have a state footprint and therefore does not play for state championships.

Nothing about race was ever mentioned!!! So sick of the false race baiters. Culture is culture and you can just look at the news for examples of this. Some public s hooks are dangerous. That’s not limited to race alone though.

Shame on Jackson Academy and their lawyer for trying to make the Voyles look racist. You cherry pick a couple comments and made it look like it was the whole letter. She was basically describing how her high school experience was compared to Jason‘s wonderful experience of Jackson Academy.

Wow! You are looking even worse JA

If 100% of tuition paying JA parents were given a confidential survey and asked if they would be okay with non-tuition students being recruited for appearance purposes that were going to take away cheerleading positions, band awards, drama awards, art awards, journalism awards, debate awards, the Mr. JA award, the Miss JA award, most beautiful, class favorite, etc., etc., etc., could JA round up enough tools dumb enough to support this totaling even 5%?

If the meatheads running JA were stealing opportunities from enough of the student body, this wouldn’t be a discussion, would it?

I went to JA, had a kid graduate and have kids that go other schools. All of what she said is dead on. We experienced all of it! This whole thing is so sad. Where are the adults in the room?

She’s right you can’t be an elite private academic school and a top notch athletic program. Pick your poison. Smart money is on elite athletics and mediocre sports. .01% of JA, prep, MRA, Clinton, NWR, insert name here, students will be professional athletes. Sports used to be the “extra”curricular activity. For many sports are becoming the only activity. Parents choose the college savings account over the Yankees, Thunder, or Rush monthly fee. Only one of these has a guaranteed return.

This has gotten boring.

That's the Mississippi Way. "Racism" isn't in your face out loud.....it's the the machinations and innuendos that are perpetrated throughout the halls of power and those connected within the state that quietly whisper, "Not in my backyard....". Reconstruction never happened in Mississippi like it's surrounding states.

The Voyles should likely quit while their behind.

There’s no denying Voyles assertions in her letter. You can’t hide bigotry by disguising it as a concern of “culture”. We all know what she was saying.

DJAX circle is up and at ‘em early this morning. Don’t be late for carpool.

Upper middle class white bread slap fight. Rage on, northeast jacktown!

I hope this rehash wasn't the "Stay Tuned" teaser, what a rug pull. Thought maybe you'd tracked down the Madison bomber or something interesting...

They're, Einstein.

Surely do 7:16: "Recruiting last minute "athletes" to take the place of loyal, financially contributing students and families of many years is just plain shortsighted, STUPID, and wrong."

If my aunt had nuts she would be my uncle…

Atrocious for speaking the truth? You are the problem today 5:14!!

Go PREP!!

Whose positions did the new football/baseball transfers at Prep take this season?

Conflating the awful public school experience that she describes with the reality of Clinton High School is offensive enough for me to call BS. That is offensive to JA and Clinton (whose athletic programs may hate each other). I'm pretty sure that Clinton HS produces more perfect 36 ACT scores than JA.

7:33 hits it straiight on, but the meathead homers can't handle the truth.

You gotta love all of the JA pro-recruit to win pre-tend championships HYPOCRITES like 7:13 AM playing the RACE CARD since they can’t win the debate on merits.
Wonder how many of these JA hypocrites live in Jackson, not behind gates, and right up in the middle of the inner city, maybe the Bailey Ave corridoor?

And the big JOKE QUESTIONS we all know the answer to is: why are they even sending their privileged kiddos to a use to be elite private school in the first place? If everybody is so equal, if neighbors don’t matter, if crime is not real, then why do these JA RACE CARD playing HYPOCRITES not get the best deal on a home possible, live right next door to the people they pretend to love, and save those $$$’s by sending their babies to the public schools?

She's not wrong. We need to compare enrollment numbers from this year to next. I know of multiple JA families moving their kids over this. If the surrounding area doesn't do it in, things like this will be the downfall of JA.

No dog in this hunt, but to the people (Mrs. Voyles included) who claim you can’t have a top tier academic and athletic educational institution, you really need to venture out beyond the NE Jackson bubble. Steady yourselves as this may come as a shock to most of you, but it’s a big world out there beyond Oxford and Starkville. There are numerous high level academic/athletic educational institutions scattered around the U.S., specifically in the Northeast, California, and Florida. I’m not intending to cast our area private schools into that bucket, but to claim otherwise is simply narrow minded and ignorant.

This is stereotypical "rich people who have never been told no" conflating wealth with power. They certainly have the right to disagree with JA's decisions, policies, admissions criteria, etc. They do not have the right to force JA to open up their books, enrollment and student records, etc. for parental inspection simply because they're upset little Timmy lost his spot on the football team. That's absurd. If they don't like the policies, they are free to send their kids elsewhere. I'm glad the school didn't capitulate to their tantrum.

This lawsuit is the two worst people you know having an argument in public.

What has quite a few people ticked off is the school is seen as taking whatever problems they have with the parents on the kid. That's probably the most common complaint I hear about this story.

No dog in this hunt ... is simply narrow minded and ignorant.

No dog in the hunt but you felt compelled to interject that your thoughts on the matter are definitive and superior.

Concur, strongly! Bad look for JA.

Two things can be true at the same time. It is true that JA's use of booster funds to cover the tuition of athletes is out of control, that this act potentially violates MAIS rules, and that the MAIS should bear some fault for allowing this happen. When the MAIS backed off Hartfield's blatant violations, it gave the green light
to JA to go full steam ahead.

It is also true that Voyles' email is wildly racist, and that JA probably had a legal basis to dismiss the young man under the enrollment contract.

Both sides here need to come to a a divorce settlement and move on.

Donors (parents) that can stroke a check for a few million aren't everywhere even at JA, so they'll need to cultivate a few more.

Their best hope could be the athletes headed to the big NILs and lucrative NFL careers. Just be sure they remember all that JA did for them and theirs. It won't be long until these folks and their grateful families can be the replacement loyal donor and enrollment base for JA!

To be fair, even some of the best people in Jackson don't have much experience or knowledge about with the kind of schools or educational culture that you describe.

It's not really something you learn about unless you leave the Mississippi bubble. Which they typically don't.

Going to Disney World or Disney World doesn't count.

Bold move by JA. If I had private school money, which I don't, there is no way I would send them to JA.

The school has demonstrated it will resort to the fabricated racism accusations just to defend its need to win at sports?

I don't know the Voyles personally and while I do enjoy sports and agree there is value to team work and lessons in responsibility...I think I would pick St Andrews instead and just avoid these private school athletic novelas entirely.

A few thoughts.

1. The Voyles email was poorly written. Never send an email, especially in a contentious situation like this, that you would not want public because it very well could end up in the public forum.

2. It is a big assumption that items stolen are being taken by the new athletes. I've heard enough complaints from Pinelake Academy about non-athletic kids stealing from other kids, and it being covered up. I promise you the rest of the kids there are not all angels.

3. Also, a big assumption that all athletes from Clinton, Jackson, and elsewhere are poor trouble makers. Some might come from lower income families and be wonderful kids of character. Their parents may be well off, but did not want to write a check for $25k a year when they could just as good an education for free. Or they could be poor, degenerate thugs. You probably have a mix of all those, just like every other school.

4. It doesn't sound like any of them are there on scholarships through the school. If Billy and Bob decided to write checks for someone else's kid and pay their tuition, that is their decision. Unless there is a school rule that says the student's tuition can only be paid by a family member, then it's a non-issue as far as the school is concerned. And if they are eligible to play according to MAIS rules, then again, the coach is going to play the best kid.

The mom is just part of the 39211 elite class pure and simple. You let a few black kids in she goes crazy. These people don't want to admit it but they are racists. They come are from the old blood line in Jackson who established these schools so they didn't have to go to school with blacks or poor people. The one thing that gets me though is I have never heard any of these schools Prep, JA, MRA apologize for being racist bafoons back in the day.

As a JA parent, I appreciate the Voyles for exposing JA for having made an extremely wise decision in hiring Eddie as the HOS. His email reply to her baseless, unsubstantiated ramblings was about as respectful and professional as one could be. I don’t know how anyone could read that and think otherwise. He said he would investigate her claims and asked for time to do so. I guess Jason thought two weeks was long enough before creating his PDF.

"If the meatheads running JA were stealing opportunities from enough of the student body, this wouldn’t be a discussion, would it?"

This is the truth.

February 6, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Way to intentially misconstrue the dialog. This is about Mississippi not the entire country. Wonder if you're in JA administration.

Academics were so important to this family that the sent CV to Tri County where they knew he could play on the baseball team.

Funny that it was ok for DJAX players that didn’t look like CV to enroll in JA but when they came from other teams it wasn’t ok.

I remember one of the reasons for the establishment of segregation academies in the first place was to give White students a better opportunity to participate in football and basketball because back then (1970) football and basketball were the main high school sports. The belief by parents was those sports in integrated public schools would be dominated by Black students.

It seems JA has made it clear what is more important to them.
Recruits and sports trophies.
What remains to be seen is if the tuition paying parents will accept this new trajectory or find different educational institutions to contribute to financially.
To each their own.

Hi Kingfish, I don’t think the school wanted to kick the child out, but having him there would mean having the parents there. Which means ongoing friction, etc. The parents must have thought the school wouldn’t make this decision. Whether or not the school kept him enrolled, at some point, it seems, we’d be right back to where we are now. Hearing it/seeing it/reading this current blog lol….

If you have the money and academics are important to you, then you send your kid to St. Andrews. It might be hard for a kid to adjust after spending years at JA though.

I too am a JA alum (91') and had some really great years there and also sent my kids to Jackson Prep , it was the best decision I ever made. This is truly embarrassing for all parties involved. Jackson Academy has never been the same since Peter Jernberg left ....................................

They just think they're upper middle class white bread.

They're really great value white bread!

JA should have a system of "affirmative action" or a quota system which protects certain slots on the sports teams for whites who may need a "leg up" to compete with the black athletes. This would at least temporarily solve the problem of whites having less chances to play. It may be cumbersome but effective, especially if done discreetly.

KF is right. This is about the " kid".
And, despite what some of you think, Jackson Academy and Prep and St. Andrews have students whose parents live in CCJ or Eastover or Fondren or LOHO or the Old Canton Road and Meadowbrook road neighborhoods. We pay the property taxes. Some of us vote or hold public office as Republicans.
And, while some of us benefitted from our parents hard work, most of us earned the money we have. We did well at school and at universities and started our own professional careers.
Biting the hands that pays the most taxes is not smart. You might be welcomed at campaign rallies, but you will not make more money or have more clout. And some of us travel enough to know all cities ebb and flow. Richmond and Atlanta and Raleigh and Birmingham and Houston neighborhoods all survived suburbia and are still the most expensive residential areas in those states. One big reason is how well those homes were built.

Truly shameful that JA chooses football over the safety of their children. Never sending my kids there.

The parents "used" their child to express THEIR grievances, THAT is the real story Fish. The school has no relationship with the parents except that they pay the bill. If they didn't like the service, then go somewhere else. End of story.

If my son went to work at Wendy's, and I didn't like how they scheduled him, and how they recruited/hired other folks to work on better shifts even while he's been there longer - for whatever reason - it would be ludicrus for me to sue Wendy's. They would most certainly fire my son very quickly to "settle" the dispute by severing any relationship with them. And my son would likely be mortified by it all. The Voyles are embarrassing themselves.

@9:06 You obviously haven’t spent any time at the school. There is way more to JA than just sports. Thousands of kids and families thrive there. Most of which are very pleased with their experience, as we are. Only the sports obsessed people are making an issue over this. The Voyles do not speak for us, nor do they speak for the vast majority of families at JA. They decided to make themselves the central focus at the school, at the expense of everyone else who goes there and works there. I’m sure they didn’t venture far out of their elitist bubble when they “surveyed” other parents displeased with JA. I bet they only talked to the ones that attend their exclusive social clubs, and thus think like they do. There are so many wonderful teachers and coaches at that school who are dedicated to serving and making an impact in the lives of their students. They are doing a wonderful job only to be dismissed and smeared by these people. It’s truly disgusting and shameful. I’m proud of Eddie for the stand he took. He is a wonderful person and Headmaster, along with the rest of the administration and staff there. Like Palmer told her, if you aren’t happy here you are welcome to leave. I wish they would have taken that advice. Instead, she decided to stay and be miserable and then try to make everyone else miserable. Good riddance.

9:39: Fair point.

How dare JA use Voyles own racist words to show her racist intent. Not fair. We are not rednecks here! Even in Philadelphia we know such language is not meant for public scrutiny. The e-mail was meant to be private, whispered among discrete white elites not shouted from the rooftops. We are appalled!

Public fight over private academy football. There are no winners in this.
Some people need a grasp of real life problems.

Wonder why JA fired their Offensive Coordinator yesterday? Timing is interesting.

A big fish in a small pond is still a big fish and all the winning players still get their conference championship participation trophies. They'll lord it over people for the next 50 years!

@9:39 JA is not a for profit business as is the Wendy’s example you mentioned. Assuming JA is a nonprofit corporation governed by a board of trustees, those trustees have an obligation to the tuition payers, not meathead coaches.

This is not rocket science. You either think its ok to recruit non-tuition paying students to steal ALL of athletic positions, all of the cheerleading positions, band awards, drama awards, art awards, journalism awards, debate awards, the Mr. JA award, the Miss JA award, the most beautiful awards, class favorite awards, etc., etc., etc.,…..from the children of the tuition paying parents the board of trustees is supposed to be looking out for, or you do not.

This is an integrity “do unto others as you would have them do unto to you” issue. And you can’t get a little bit pregnant.

Man, I sure wish we had some school choice to fix all this!

9:39- Repeat this statement for a public high school and see if it makes sense to the extent that the school has no significant relationship with the parents of their students other than at a monetary level.

Now project a similar statement upon the backers of school choice and charter high schools.

It makes little sense on a number of levels.

Particularily when most of the students at any high school school are minors.

8:57 You sound like someone who has actually given this matter more than five seconds of rational thought. You must be from out of state.

It's a perfect microcosm of Jackson's finest though.
Sounds like it might be a good made for streaming movie plot too.

Just need to use some writer's license and add in some side squeeze revelations and or pronoun dramas to spice up the situational dialog.

I appreciate JA's efforts to enter the national mainstream of private education. Academic AND athletic success is an integral part of the well-financed private schools outside Mississippi. Some schools can afford it, many cannot, but in this state JA can. But it is a fight against Mississippi's past that JA has chosen and it will not be easy. It is ironic that the latest voice of doom and gloom is from Philadelphia MS. A real link to the past. In spite of the good ole boys warnings of doom Ole Miss has only recently taken a spot on the national scene that other Southern schools have long ago occupied. Go forward JA, it can be done but it will be a tough fight. In Mississippi the past is never past.

What eventually will happen is that the Voyles are so politically connected there will be some legislation passed that will stop all of this. Stay Tuned!

I have a feeling JA is about to start losing that old money, along with paying parents who will look elsewhere for their kids.

It is a "Private" school, just like a private business, you can choose who you want to provide services for. A restaurant can deny you service, so can a school. Move on Voyles, you are beginning to look like fools. JA do better. Same goes to MRA.

10:07 You will not find anywhere, and certainly not at JA where recruits "steal all' of the athletic positions, cheerleading, academic slots, chess team, etc. It is your exaggeration and unreasoned fear mongering that makes a reasonable improvement in athletic performance through even the most "selective recruitment" impossible. A few athletically gifted students who meet the academic requirements will not destroy an otherwise strong academic institution. They will however alarm the privileged and the competition.

@9:39…Hi Carolyn! Racist much? Seek therapy, please. You're embarrassing yourself.

Meant for 10:07 not 9:39.

Since JA files a 990 there might possibly be some compliance issues, including whether the organization's purpose is being supported with the organization's actions.

There might also be some governance issues.

10:48 That is what most of these critics of JA really want. They hated JA before any of this happened and they hope this will be the disaster that destroys their enemy. Don't be deceived by their self-righteous bullshit.

I’m not sure what the schools have to apologize for considering most of the folks involved weren’t even born yet “back in the day”.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit it but I just finished reading all 70+ pages. Those of you saying Carolyn is racist should spend the time actually read the documents.

Credit to JA's lawyers - they successfully shifted the focus on race when race doesn't have anything to do with the case. Yes, it is true that JA chose to exploit, I mean recruit primarily black athletes but their race is not relevant to the lawsuit. Replace all of the black recruits with white recruits. Nothing in the lawsuit changes. Nothing.

The lawsuit is really about a good kid getting kicked out of JA because the dad unintentionally embarrassed the school.

JA's lawyers want you to believe the Voyles were aggressive and hostile towards school staff/board and demanded to get their way. The documents prove these allegations are false. Go read them.

Also found it interesting that this entire lawsuit could have been avoided if JA would agree to allow a confidential audit of public school transfer tuition. Seems this would have been better for both sides.

@11:00 15 is not "a few". Nice try though. It is a fact that JA brought in 15 public school high school athletes this year alone. That is absurd and indefensible.

People that go to private schools are weak people!

Ma Voyles is racist, but JA recruits ringers and isn't? Yeah. Right.

"The Voyles should likely quit while their behind." 7:13, you take the prize. The thing about this whole PRIVATE SCHOOL brouhaha, which eclipses all other issues, for me, is how unbelievably-badly everybody writes. The School, the Voyles, those commenting... Nobody (except a few out-of-state posters, here) can write intelligibly. Not only would my HR fail to vet your hiring, but you'd have never made it into the development pipeline leading to your even being CONSIDERED for a position.

I used to think that it was individuals' inability to mask heavy Southern accents, which kept people trapped in Mississippi (once Dallas and Atlanta ceased to be Southern). Now, though, I see that there are other factors.

Carolyn, why do you even live here? Just take your money and live in Jackson Hole. It’s not like you have to work for a living!

Wait a minute!!!

Shay got fired.

I don't personally know the Voyles and am glad I don't. However, as a parent with several JA kids, I say good riddance to them. They created this situation for themselves and their child. Years from now, the only thing people will remember about the Voyles' child is that his parents sued JA and got thumped, and he was dismissed from the school. Sadly, nothing more.

I wholeheartedly agree with 8:58 about Eddie. He handled the situation with the Voyles with grace and restraint. Much more than I would have shown to the Voyles.

How many public school transfers did not or will not have a starting position in the sport they play at JA? Zero. They wouldn't transfer unless they knew they would get a starting position. That is reason #832 why recruiting non tuition paying public school athletes to the detriment of those paying the bills is not a smart or sustainable strategy.

If you have an issue with recruiting, you should have chosen a better mate or spent more time with your children in sports. I not once had my spot taken on any sports team from a kid recruited into my school. My father had a fierce regimen growing up of sports, agility training, and proper nutrition. I was disciplined for B’a or worse via food withheld, half marathons I had to lunge, and countless hours of bows and toes. I’m grateful every day for the alpha dad I had. My therapist has made me understand what my loving father was instilling into his young man.

@11:00 and you won’t find @10:07 where it was stated that JA recruits "steal all' of the athletic positions cheerleading, academic slots, chess team, etc. What you will find is:

“You either think its ok to recruit non-tuition paying students to steal ALL of (the) athletic positions, all of the cheerleading positions, band awards, drama awards, art awards, journalism awards, debate awards, the Mr. JA award, the Miss JA award, the most beautiful awards, class favorite awards, etc., etc., etc.,…..from the children of the tuition paying parents the board of trustees is supposed to be looking out for, or you do not.”

Now, we all know the meathead coaches and those so-called running JA can do the math and will never recruit too much; because they know they will find their sorry a____s out on the street looking for a job. So, they will steal juuusssst enough opportunities to keep from upsetting too many of the tuition paying parents. Juuusssst enough so the other parents will think “it’s not affecting my kiddo.”

Steal from 7 or steal from 70; it is still stealing…..and you can’t get a little bit pregnant.

You see this guy right here! This is what it’s about guys! Mental toughness. If you come from a good family you have no excuse not to excel. Fuck your feelings and get to work. You gotta work your ass off night and day then you kick some ass!

Did JA fire Shay Hodge, or did he leave on his own to take another job? This is not a rhetorical question. I really don't know the answer.

Racists are gonna racist and Philadelphia, MS is gonna Philadelphia, MS. That is all.

Dude the reason you are in therapy now is because of your alpha dad. Find another therapist!

Yea “this is what it’s about” - be “grateful every day for the alpha dad” – that “withheld food” – so says the therapist.

Ahhhhh - meathead coach satire?

@2:06 What do you mean stealing? A position on a damn football team does not belong to your kid because you were there first. If the kid from JA transfers to Prep and moves last year's starting center did he "steal" something? Does "stealing" only apply to a certain segment of society? Watch when you call someone a thief or use the term "ALL" because it fits your emotions but not the facts.

@3:31 PM so what you’re saying is it would be A OK for JA to recruit NON_TUITION PAYING students to “fill” ALL of the athletic positions, all of the cheerleading positions, band awards, drama awards, art awards, journalism awards, debate awards, the Mr. JA award, the Miss JA award, the most beautiful awards, class favorite awards, etc., etc., etc.”

Gotcha! Be sure to tell everybody you know at JA this and let us know their responses.

Serious question to all as I do not know the answer: If a TUITION PAYING high school “kid from JA transfers to Prep” wanting that “last year's starting center” position, does the JA high school kid not have to sit out for one-year? If he does have to sit out, then why?

As a parent to a toddler, JA was a strong consideration for us, but I will not be paying 20k a year to a school who lowers its standards for athletics and then gives reduced tuition/free tuition to those kids who were admitted on those lower standards. Onward to Prep or Christ Covenant.

@9:41 Well said Mr. Wettach

JA Has the best recruits free tuition can buy.

I applaud the courage of the Voyles. If everyone had the courage to confront this kind of underhanded crap there'd be a hell of a lot less of it.

JA pinning the blame on Shay Hodge and Tony Howard in 3,2,1

Everyone wants to trash the Voyles. JA apologists , including their lawyers, don’t want to address the initial question/issue, which was briefly addressed by 12:39. I understand that the Voyles/Yates have donated in excess of $250k/year to the school, and were concerned about the use of their money-specifically they didn’t want to be the source of this “athletic scholarship “ tuition money. But the school refused to allow any accounting of their use of their money. Hence the email and the lawsuit. If a private benefactor wants to fund the tuition for athletes or tuba players, more power to them. I’ve heard that there are a couple of these benefactors, at least one of whom has a history of this sort of behavior. Transparency would clear it all up, but JA doesn’t seem to want that.

If you go to JA and want to earn playing time, better be one of the best players in the metro area

Just a curious question. If JA’s coaches are as good as they say they are, why can’t they develop their own athletes? Why do they need to recruit? I’d be mad at these parents funding this as they obviously believe my son is a waste and an embarrassment to the JA uniform. The silence of the benched kids parents proves why their kids were benched. Betas. Every one of them.

We are parents who send our kids to JA and agree wholeheartedly with @9:41. To all the parents with toddlers/children bypassing JA bc of all this speculation and hearsay without touring, truly consider all your choices…. you may be happy here. No this is not a paid advertisement or school staff, etc. Just satisfied parents.

You were third string. It’s obvious.

Hey 3:53. There is a difference in “legal” and “okay.” What they did is legal. The market will determine if it is Okay.

You can’t buy your kid talent. At least not at JA. Maybe at East Rankin your annual six figure donations will make your kid suddenly “talented” but not at JA. Or Prep. Or real life.

Ricky Black probably glad he retired. He took 160 pound DL’s and made state champs out of them.

2:06 & 3:53 You are probably right. The Voyles and other long time supporters have bought their sons right to play and not be bothered by outsiders. They spent good money and expect to be respected. Taking that from them is STEALING. You should expect something for your money.

I don't know who is right or wrong in this situation, but why the heck would JA want to pick a fight with Yates Construction?

Their headmaster must be dumber than Jeff Lebby.

@5:13 Wrong, but nice try. Eddie isn’t on these comment threads trying to run a propaganda campaign like you are, because his support is organic. Yours is manufactured, just like your bs excuse for creating the PDF. It’s sad though, because we all know it’s you behind every one of these negative post and comments about JA. That’s why no one is taking them seriously. Take my advice and get over yourself.

Aside from a family who own an island (and a salt dome, and a famous raised cottage, and a much-beloved condiments company) in Louisiana (OK, and a family from Argentina, and a couple of princely Rajput families, and a titled expat family from France) there is no "Old Money" in Jackson.

Most of Jackson's "fine families" arrived as Carpetbaggers and Scalawags, during Reconstruction. They ran-off (or murdered) the genuine old families (who, mostly being too destitute to make it to New York or Rio - or even to Texas, got as far as Tupelo or Greenville, before the horses died, and they'd then pushed their wagons until the wheels fell off, fleeing the Carpetbaggers).

A tad later, some guys jumped-train at Jackson, crept into the swamps (see JJ archives for the huge Gold Coast stories collection), ran booglegging/brothel/gambling operations, then, once they'd grown relatively rich, crawled up Leflore's Bluff, into Jackson, clothed themselves in churchey righteousness, and became "prominent".

From the early 1900s until the late 1980s, young members of old families throughout the state, trapped in Mississippi by their accents (and, following extended farm crises), forced out of farming and into professions, moved to Jackson - because there were few other options for them.

But, in recent decades, noting Mississippi's still-ongoing devolution into a hatemongering theocracy, the scions of the old families have been the first to leave. The Rats & Suzies used their Fraternity/Sorority connections, to become settled in Texas and Georgia. The Cognitive Elite took jobs on the Pacific Coast, or in the New York Megalopolis. And their parents have followed.

Populating the Jackson Metro's private schools (and exclusive clubs/organizations), are the descendants of White Trash Sharecroppers (the Rednecks, a social class above that, have mostly fled).

You know how, when an ecological niche opens up, local species sometimes expand into that niche, through the miracle of Natural Selection? Well, it's kinda like that. You know how, in the ancient world, power vacuums would develop, following the disappearance of rulers - and new groups would move into the vacancies at the top? It's like that, too.

They mostly pass as somebodies. But then, an arbor or trellis gets built, and they don't know that vines are supposed to be grown on them. Things like that...

Little alleycats and ragammufins like me, would go to Mississippi's colleges for poor kids, then, having noplace else to go, would move to Jackson. That describes the grandparents and parents of most of the kids in Central Mississippi's private schools.

Old Money's got nothin' to do with it.

@6:18 Gee, I wonder who wrote this. It’s so obvious at this point that it’s not even funny. At first it was a fun guessing game, but now the gig is up. Look, there are only a few of us left. Everyone else has moved on. You’re desperately trying to spin this in your favor and the rest of us are just trolling you. Have some self respect and give it a rest.

@719 “You can’t buy your kid talent. At least not at JA. Maybe at East Rankin your annual six figure donations will make your kid suddenly “talented” but not at JA. Or Prep. Or real life”

Have you watched basketball this year. Better believe you can

I think the most interesting thing in all of this is to see which JA parents footed the bill for the recruits. Which parents cared so much to secure a better football team for the school? Is there a record of donated money toward “scholarships” at the school?

The message to the Voyles (and the rest of society) is, "Hey, we're so grateful for you giving us so much money....but we'll take it from here, and make all the decisions, because those who have the gold, make the rules. Nobody's "trashing" the Voyles except the Voyles themselves....when you're neighborhood "turned" Carolyn, you should have screamed at your husband to move. The world most certainly does not revolve around your ego...not matter how much money you attempt to buy "influence" with.

@12:39, it’s fairly obvious that at least some of the athletic tuition costs must’ve been provided by the Voyles. Otherwise, why not agree to an audit of the donated funds. I believe that there are many in the JA circle who know exactly who is involved in this and are simply biding their time until their kids graduate/leave, and they don’t have to be involved with the sh**show any longer.

This reminds me more and more MRA in the early 90s. I also think bad optics by JA, to use the lady's words and excerpt it to make her look worse than what the email already was (was rather bad to begin with but you can get the point maybe.) One point she did make that was correct, is that a school can only either frame itself as a premier educational institution, or a sports academy, but can rarely ever do both. I think these private schools have lost track of this given the increased value for athletics especially as of recent. The main issue now, is that parents, kids, and even school officials, esp coaches, and athletic staff have put way too much emphasis on the value interscholastic athletics has become over the whole reason we go to a school in the first place. Education. It's become the IDOL of the times we are living in.

The issue with the alleged loophole thats being used (patrons paying reduced tuition for athletic recruits, which has happened at almost every MAIS school, with a promising athlete with a rich parent), is that there is no backing to tell a parent what they cant do with their own money, and there historically has been some people who have been altruistic toward students in need, who have little to no value to the schools' athletic programs.

On the whole, why are we funneling this much money into a bunch of private school kids playing sports? Why is interscholastic athletics become a pay to win, situation, rather than give the kids recreation, and provide them with the life skills needed? Right now, it's teaching us that you can buy your way into anything, and you dont have to work through it.

@7:16PM chose to dodge the @3:53 question…..but why nobody else chose to answer this question could be interesting:

“If a TUITION PAYING high school “kid from JA transfers to Prep” wanting that “last year's starting center” position, does the JA high school kid not have to sit out for one-year? If he does have to sit out, then why?

Come on, man up and answer this question.

Everyone already knows. Would be hilarious if someone ponied up and brought in a bad ass QB this year. The benefactor wouldn’t be very happy

I knew about Yates before all this but not the Voyles. I guess they weren’t getting enough attention with their tax credits and wanted more people to know their name.

JA has jumped the shark. All downhill from here.

I'm not @7:16, but the answer to your first question is yes, unless it is considered a "bona fide move" under the MAIS rules. These include a family physically moving closer to the school to which they are transferring, a family member is employed by the school to which they are transferring, moving a substantial distance (maybe it's 100 miles), and perhaps another.

The answer to why a kid that doesn't satisfy these criteria would have to sit out is not stated in the MAIS rules. However, I believe the rule exists to protect member schools, primarily the Jackson area schools, from enticing each other's students to transfer, ie. competitive balance. But gives rise to a question: If competitive balance is so important, then why allow third-party boosters to stack all-star teams by paying the tuition of recruits?

Now, to the real point I think you're trying to make: Should the kid in your example be allowed to transfer from JA to Prep without penalty when the MAIS refuses to enforce its rules against Hartfield (transfer and inducement) and JA (inducement)? Yes, he should, IMHO.

Is anyone aware of one person getting a college and high school team put on probation? Could be a first.

In essence, MAIS punishes their own kids, the ones attending member schools and rewards public school kids transferring to a member school. Seems like in 2026 there would be some law requiring equal treatment and equal rights regardless of race, nationality or athletic ability.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - right or wrong, private school is EXPENSIVE. You pay for it because it benefits your child in so many ways - it's about education which includes the smaller class sizes and more opportunities at school (yes, fewer kids means more opportunities to star in the play, start on the team, be valedictorian, etc)... and this is important NOT because they're going to be a Hollywood star or professional baseball player BUT because of what they learn from the experience. THAT is what you are paying for. Private school parents, for the most part (I hope), know that their child is not going to play D1 sports or be a professional player except in the rarest of rare circumstances (and those parents will often transfer their child to a public school where they can get better experience for that endeavor).

You PAY for the small school size and access to opportunities. The kids will be in the real world where they are beat out soon enough - and, spoiler alert, plenty of kids are beat out by each other in private school. Not every kid makes the sports team. Not everyone gets the lead who tries out. But it's a smaller setting with more access to opportunities.

BTW, folks of all skin colors are welcome, this sentiment has nothing to do with that factor. Bringing folks in senior year who have no history or synergy with the class that has been growing together for 14 years to win a championship - pathetic. JA should have drawn them in as kindergartners and put their money where their mouth is.

10:02 to answer your question: "Why allow third-party boosters to stack all star-teams by paying the tuition of recruits?"

I assume you are kidding. These are private schools. They only exist as long as they get paid. None are so stupid as to question WHERE a student got his tuition unless it is from an obviously illegal source... which it ain't. And they all WANT boosters, the more the better. DUH

What the hell are you saying. this post makes no sense.

IF THIS WAS ABOUT TENNIS AND SOFTBALL WOULD ANYBODY CARE? What's the real issue here?

Kids in kindergarten are of no value to the championship brand 😂

I'd definitely like that list. It'd be added to my BLACKLIST - and future generations of that family would be on my blacklist, too, because I consider those families to be irreparably defective. People with value systems like that, are to be shunned.

The Wendy's analogy still applies: If Wendy's changes their policies midstream, and you can't stand the food any more - then you're free to go to Burger King across the street. You can cry a river over how you miss the Wendy's Salad Bar, but you DO NOT get to dictate what a PRIVATE entity does.

There are a lot of great comments but the very first one pretty much sums it all up.

St. Andrews is not as superior academically since Tom Sheppard came through as headmaster and ran off half the faculty.

12:44 I’ll help you understand why the Wendy’s analogy does not apply. The kids can’t simply go to another school without sitting out of sports for a year unless you move closer to new school or parent gets a job at new school. That’s not possible for most kids. The kids are trapped at JA. They pay almost $20k/yr to their school for them to screw them over. So yeah, go to Burger King and drink tap water but no Whoppers for a year.

" but you DO NOT get to dictate what a PRIVATE entity does"

You do if you have a contract with them giving you certain rights.

As a JA parent, I am at the baseball game posting this from the bleachers. Enough is enough. We are a joke. Eddie, Brandt, anyone on the school board, please put an end to this. This is not OK. We are not what we’re supposed to be. Between both games, most of these kids don’t pay to go to school here. We are laughing joke

☝️ what 4:52 said. Nailed it

@4:52. Just shut up and move on already. I honestly doubt you are a JA parent and were at the game. Did you leave in protest? No. I am a JA parent and I was at the game with many other JA parents who were there enjoying the game. Tell me, what was the issue that makes us a laughing joke? Was it the kids running around playing on the field at Raider Park? Or the ones playing in the playground behind the tennis courts? Maybe your burger was a little undercooked. Was it the student section being a little too loud for you? Or, was it that we had a few black kids on the field? Possibly you didn’t like that we 10 run ruled SA. I guess you preferred it better when we were losing. You could have gone to the show choir competition at the PAC if you didn’t like the baseball game. Maybe you just showed up to piss in everyone’s cereal. You are not the only parent at the school. Leave if you want. Nobody will care.

Having never been to "a game" (any game - even when I was in school), I have to ask: are you talking about the players, or about kids watching the game? Do they have to pay admission? Do JA students and parents pay admission? Are people from "the community" coming in, to watch the mercenary import players?

5:36 reading comprehension must not be your thing. Reread the part about kids not paying to go to school here. Not everything is about race.

Here we go again “we 10 run rule SA” 😂 No one gives a damn except for you, your ego and your kid. It’s got to be an awesome feeling knowing JA can beat MAIS teams with compiled talent from across the metro. Let me guess, your kid starts and is the best player at his position in the metro area? Or, could it be, the new athlete migration stopped magically when it got to your kids position? That must mean your family name has pull at JA. Congrats on that 👏🏻 Classic when parents like you say “just got to work harder and be better”, yet you either get real lucky your kids position wasn’t swiped or you had some strings pulled in your direction. Which was it? Honestly, ask yourself. I’m here to tell you, your kid isn’t one of the best in the city. He could’ve been riding the pine too, if it weren’t for…

@10:02 AM thank you for clarifying MAIS rules DO REQUIRE (let’s use 3:31PM’s example) “the kid from JA (that) transfers to Prep” to sit out for one-year prior to being able to play sports.

Sooooooo, wonder why MAIS rules require a high school kid transferring from one MAIS private school in town to another MAIS private school in town to sit out for a full one-year prior to being able to participate in sports?

Sounds like the old double standard, doesn’t it? A rule to restrict and require loyally TO THE SCHOOL from the private school tuition paying kids, while the private school stabs those same kids in the back just to win fake championships.

Come on JA staff tough guys!!! This is the real world. A tough guy’s world. The world where 3:31 PM says “a position on a damn football team does not belong to your kid because you were there first.” Soooooo, are you JA’ers good with allowing in town private school kids to move freely from MAIS school to MAIS school?

I read just fine. The only difference between this year’s team and last years is that there are a few more black kids on it. I don’t recall anyone complaining about us being a “laughing joke” then, so what other conclusion should I draw. By the way, I’m willing to bet that 100% of the kids out there don’t pay to go to school there, unless you know of one holding down a well paying summer job.

6:22 it’s time to move on. If you’re not happy with JA, please join the Voyles and bring your drama to another school. I, nor 6:36, will miss you.

Truth spoken that the hypocrites can’t accept. They love blacks on the team but don’t want them moving next door.

7:43 How about this conclusion - no one believes 2 kids from 7A public schools (best & most competitive baseball in the state) would transfer to JA to play one year, their senior year and pay $20k to do it. They (which includes their parents) aren’t paying that and everyone knows it.

So, we assemble/recruit a metro area all-Star team and then act like we’ve done something when we win? That is what makes us a joke. And it doesn’t matter if the new kids are black, white, hispanic or asian. It’s about right vs wrong, not black vs white. And if playing the race card is our only defense to criticism (which appears to be the case), then we know what we’re doing is wrong and Eddie/Brandt/Board need to fix it. Fast

@4:24pm "Contract" my ass. There's nothing in a child's nor parent's "contract" for payment about how the school conducts their "business" related to sports activities. Absolutely nothing. It's boilerplate "student rights" stuff that has zero bearing on this subject.

I too was at the baseball game. Glad we won but just different. Don’t know half the kids out there. Don’t know their families. Just different experience than when my kids player for Parker Harris. Maybe we didn’t win all the games but we knew all the players and their families.

@2:23 - on point. Exactly. I suppose there are some people who want to pay for the privilege of having a winning team their children don't contribute towards, but not me. At one point in time, JA was next in line for where we might send our kids to school if they were not where they are. No more. Their values certainly don't align with what I want my children learning.

This is the Pandora's Box that the MAIS opened when it refused to uphold its punishment against Hartfield. The message to the membership was that the MAIS was not going to enforce its anti-booster payment rule, which JA saw and ran with.

So, to answer your question, if the MAIS is allowing boosters to pay the tuition for public transfers, then existing students who wish to transfer to another member institution should be able to do so without penalty.

What's important here (at least to me) is to clarify who the identity of the at fault parties. They are (1) the MAIS for refusing to enforce its rules, thereby allowing the practice to flourish; (2) the leadership of the schools that have taken advantage of the MAIS's weakness; and (3) the MAIS again for creating a situation in which innocent kids cannot transfer to another membership institution because the MAIS allowed illegal booster payments in the first place. This was the foreseeable product of poor leadership.

I don't place much fault on coaches who are trying to do what they think is best to win, and will be fired for losing. It's school leadership - athletic director, headmaster, board - who are charged with placing and enforcing guard rails on the system. I know others may disagree.

I don't fault the parents of transferring students. Everyone wants their children to be in the best place possible for them. It's not their job to know whether MAIS rules prohibit booster financing, and frankly, the indications form the MAIS is that it is an acceptable practice.

Most of all, I don't place fault on the the transferring kids. Like their parents, it isn't their job to know what violates MAIS rules. Plus, they're teenagers and want to play ball where they think they best fit in the limited time they have left in high school. In that sense, they're the same as the kids who are already at the school. I believe it is unfair to criticize their character or motives - whether by implication or outright - and that is where Carolyn Voyles's email is so offensive.

@1211 I agree with you. The MAIS is weak.

The head of the MAIS lives in a house owned by Jackson Academy on Sheffield. You really can’t make this up. If you don’t believe me call the MAIS office and ask them

Well, I was there too. Saw a well disciplined team dominate in front of a packed Raider Park and having fun. Yes, have a kid on the team. I know all the players and the families. Come get to know us and enjoy the fun! #WeAreJA

@9:13 There are 9 positions on the baseball field. Approximately 30 kids on the team. Assuming you can do the math, most of the kids ride the pine during the game. That’s the way it has always been. But I guess the bullpen catcher doesn’t contribute to the team since he isn’t the starter. So exactly what values are you teaching your kids? What are you wanting them to learn? There is no value in being a part of a team if you aren’t the starter? Your contribution is worthless if you don’t get all of the credit? This reflects more poorly on you as a parent then it does JA, and I am glad you chose to go somewhere else.

@6:56 I’m guessing you didn’t go out of your way to introduce yourself to the new players and families in an attempt to get to know them either.

@2:31 this really isn't hard to understand. Of the 9 positions on JA's baseball field, 6-7 were not at JA before last season. The only "lesson" you are teaching the longtime JA kids: Life Is Not Fair.

2-6-26 @1239:
Nobody around here, black or White, wants to actually read the documents in any case. It's so much easier to just call one side racist and the other side righteous than to try to understand why something got to the point that it did.
By the way, every human is "racist" by nature. It's not a bad thing. It's self preservation. It's also not against the law and it's not mentioned in the 10 Commandments.

@2:31 Just think….1-2 more player transfers and your perspective changes instantly. “Gotta work hard..we love JA…need to put in the work if you want to be good” to the other side in a flash. A couple more right answers on the entrance exam and your perspective changes magically. Funny how it all works out for some and not for others

I agree with one of the above posters. With all the recruiting mess, the MAIS is to blame. Their rules and lack of enforcement have created all of this although I’m not sure if it was purposeful or not. I also agree that no one outside of JA believes that they don’t recruit in one way or another. It is actually worse than it looks as all recruits are not minorities and some are recruited prior to high school so it is not as noticeable.

There were 4 starters yesterday that are new within the last two years. And you’re right. Life isn’t fair. My kid is on the team. My message to him… Work harder! Nothing in life is guaranteed. This narrative that just because you have been at a school longer means you should have a starting position on whatever team is the biggest bunch of BS. The entitlement mentality is for weak-minded selfish losers. Those no longer at JA fit that description.

@4:52… you’re the joke here. Before last year, the JA baseball program was an embarrassment. The morale in the locker room was rock bottom. We hired a coach last year that was a former MLB gold glove winner. Unfortunately for JA, the MLB came calling again. But kids wanted to come here and learn and play for somebody that had done it at the highest level. Our program is on the rise and filled with expectations we haven’t had in a long time. Our kids have a confidence that is inspiring to watch. If that’s what you call a joke then perhaps JA isn’t the right place for you.

All schools in jackson are a problem culturally and morally. they are a reflection of who we are in jackson and it is not pretty. Move to Texas is my recommendation, anywhere in Texas is better than here

The left has been so successful at convincing the majority of the population that being a “racist” (a one-way only trait, by the way) is absolutely the worst thing ever known to mankind, that an incredible percentage of people are now likely to commit suicide by “empathy” on these issues. In this case, people are completely aware of the deplorable (understatement) conditions of our public schools, but to fit in with what you’re “supposed” to think (not being a “racist”), they’re willing to go along with this recruiting scandal and eventually kill the school. And, ultimately, killing the school is exactly what will happen.
The culture they’re importing doesn’t value the same things those who send their children to JA value, and today’s youth culture eats it up. You’d have to be from another planet to not recognize what’s at stake here.

Ironically, stating the truth, like I’ve done above, is frequently viewed as being “racist”……..and the suicidal empathy continues

Yes! Suicidal Empathy is the Achilles Heel - the vulnerability - hard-wired into Western minds, which made Westerners defenseless against the 'Racism' brainwashing.

The 'Racism' concept was crafted in Moscow, I suppose - as a WEAPON. It meshed perfectly with 'Grundtvigian Lutheranism' (a wonderful thing, in Denmark, back when that country was 100% Danish). Grundtvig prepared the West for Communist brainwashing. Probably,. that's why you never hear of Grundtvig: we never hear the histories behind the long list of things we're not allowed to think.

Big Religion, The British Royal Family's Empire, and The Rockefeller Watershed, all regard humans as nothing but 'Exploitable Units', who're not allowed certain ideations inconvenient to their exploiters. Charges of 'Racism' are convenient weapons for the exploiters to wield.

My first brush with Grundtvigian Lutheranism, was when we were flying back from our first trip to Minneapolis. We'd been to the big mall, where, in the Scandinavian Shop, our daughter spotted, 'The Rescue of the Danish Jews'.
The retired teacher in the aisle seat, who happened to be Minnesota Danish - and living in Seattle (naturellement...) - saw me reading the book. Along with being assured that Danish Gentiles also suffered during that period, I got an explanation of Grundvig/Grundtvigian Lutheranism, and its (dangerously, if you ask ME) egalitarian tenets.

Since I'm a brown person, the teacher no-doubt thought I'd like to hear her horror story about going to North Dakota. "Nothing but blue-eyed blonds!" This was supposed to induce horror and outrage on my part. (our kids were in the row behind us, pantomiming the woman, and making mental notes to go to North Dakota, next- since all three will tell you, "If I'm not seeing blond eyelashes, It's not happening.")

We, you see, are not hard-wired for Suicidal Empathy.

1018 and 1156,
we are well on our way to suicidally empathizing ourselves to death.

11:56 here. We sure are.

Feb. 7 @ 8;08 pm - take (not bring) your drama.

Exactly. The last child is halfway through high school. Keeping my head down and counting the days until I never have to care again what goes on at JA. It was great for the oldest kids, ok but slipping for the middle and it gets worse every day, now. If said child were younger I’d move them

While we’re all sharing, I have 3 kids at JA and they absolutely love it. It’s been a great school for our family and we’re excited about its future and the opportunities for our children. There are many good, hardworking people doing good things on that campus. Is JA perfect? No. Show me a school that is. We are thankful and will do what we can to be helpful along the way.

When JA hired an ex major leaguer as a coach, a lot of kids wanted to go play for him. The coach didn’t recruit at all. I’m a former high school baseball coach and stay connected to the baseball community. Black and white kids transferred to play baseball and learn from him. Public schoool and private school transfers. I even thought about sending my kid there, but decided against it because he is a senior. Thank God I didn’t because the coach left. They may have recruited in football, I don’t know. But you don’t have to recruit serious baseball players, they will find good coaches to develop them. The 5 Black kids that are playing now at JA are really good at baseball and come from outstanding families. They came to get trained by the best while receiving an equal educational experience. Their previous schools were high performing, some better than JA. JA is a serious baseball program now. Before it was mediocre at best. Just one coach’s opinion.