Alabama
Alabama Senate approves bill to place politically-appointed board in charge of archives department
The Alabama Senate approved a bill on Wednesday that puts a politically-appointed board in charge of the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH), as well as a bill that makes it easier for municipalities to fire members of a local library’s board of directors. The bills are widely seen as a response to an ADAH event last year that highlighted LGBTQ+ history in the state, as well as the presence of LGBTQ+ materials in libraries. Both bills will now go to the state’s House of Representatives.
The first bill, SB77 takes aim at the governing structure of the ADAH. Under current law, the ADAH enjoys a degree of independence from the legislature, with two members from each Congressional district and two at-large members appointed by the board themselves and confirmed by the Senate. The governor also serves as a member. The new bill, sponsored by Republican State Senator Chris Elliott, would vacate all current members and restructure the board so it is composed of nine members: the governor and 8 members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Representatives, and speaker pro tempore. This would mean that the ADAH would be governed by a board of political appointees from the same party, as Republicans hold all the positions mentioned in the bill.
The Alabama Senate Republican Caucus celebrated the bill in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “State-funded institutions are meant to reflect the will of the people. Yet, the Department of Archives and History has blatantly disregarded Alabama’s longstanding commitment to preserving our history and instead promoted their own social agenda.”
This is likely a reference to an event that the ADAH hosted last year as part of their “Food for Thought” lecture series. The event, “Invisible No More: Alabama’s LGBTQ+ History,” explored LGBTQ+ history in Alabama and garnered significant criticism from the state’s Republican leadership. Elliott even proposed a bill that would strip the agency of $5 million in funding over the event, although that bill did not pass.
At the time, ADAH Director Steve Murray defended the event, saying it was “neither indoctrination nor politicization.” Maigen Sullivan, who cofounded the Birmingham-based Invisible Histories Project and spoke at the event, told local media, “I really just went over things that are quite black and white. It’s just a record of history, and so I find it mind-boggling that anyone would interpret facts as a political agenda.”
There was significant opposition to SB77, despite its passage, with local media reporting that every speaker at a public hearing on Tuesday opposed the bill. One of the speakers was Delores R. Boyd, a retired attorney, former US magistrate judge and the chair of the ADAH’s current board. She questioned the need for SB77, saying:
What is the compelling problem or need warranting such a radical change? Nothing in the bill documents or even suggests any fraud, mismanagement or improprieties which implicate agency’s staff or trustees. There can be no credible complaint that the agency is not fulfilling each of the objects and purposes outlined in the originating statute.
Senator Linda Coleman-Madison (D) argued that the bill risked politicizing the state’s history, saying, “I think if we go down this slippery slope, one of these days we’re going to find out that maybe our own history or our ancestors’ history is also being taken away or not recorded accurately because we have made it a political football.”
In addition to SB77, the state Senate also passed SB10, which makes it easier for local authorities to fire members of a library’s governing board if they are unsatisfied with their performance. This comes amid a pushback against diverse literature, especially LGBTQ+ topics, and as the American Library Association expressed alarm at the increase in censorship in libraries and schools.
Alabama is one of many states that have passed legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBTQ+ rights group, declared a state of emergency last year, echoing concerns from a UN expert that LGBTQ+ rights in the US were being “deliberately undermined” by state governments. LGBTQ+ rights in the US are falling more and more along state and partisan lines, with HRC calling Republican-controlled states “increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ people.” State legislators introduced more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2023, a historic high.
Alabama
Southern 88-85 Alabama A&M (Mar 5, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — — Terrance Dixon Jr.’s 19 points helped Southern defeat Alabama A&M 88-85 on Thursday.
Dixon shot 7 of 10 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Jaguars (15-16, 11-7 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Michael Jacobs scored 15 points while going 4 of 11 and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line, and added five rebounds. AJ Barnes shot 3 for 7 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points, while adding six rebounds.
Koron Davis finished with 23 points for the Bulldogs (17-14, 10-8). James Graham added 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals for Alabama A&M. Kintavious Dozier also had 12 points.
The Jaguars led by 10 points with 59 seconds to go, before the Bulldogs executed a three-point play from Bilal Abdur-Rahim then got a 3-pointer from Dozier in the span of nine seconds, cutting the deficit to four. A free throw battle closed out the result for the Jaguars.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Alabama
Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama
Jaxon Richardson, the No. 27 overall recruit in the 2026 class per the Rivals Industry Ranking, has committed to Alabama.
The 6-foot-6 four-star small forward out of Southeastern Prep (FL) ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over USC, Creighton, and Ole Miss. He also received offers from Miami, Cincinnati, Michigan, Florida, Villanova, and others.
Richardson, a McDonald’s All-American, becomes the Crimson Tide’s third commitment of the 2026 cycle. He joins four-star shooting guard Qayden Samuels (No. 28 NATL) and four-star small forward Tarris Bouie (No. 54 NATL).
He’s the son of NBA veteran and two-time NBA Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson. His older brother, Jase, played for Michigan State last season before being selected 25th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.
More on Richardson
Rivals’ National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw says Richardson is one of the most explosive players in the 2026 class:
Jaxon Richardson is able to combine fluid athleticism with explosive burst in a way no other player in this class can. He uses his athleticism to his advantage on the floor. He fills the outside channels with a purpose in transition, he is aggressive in the passing lanes, and he plays as a vertical floor spacer in the dunker spots and lob plays. Last summer, playing with the Florida Rebels on Nike’s EYBL Circuit, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 12.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting and 10.5 attempts per game. Last high school season, he averaged 12.9 points on 61.0 percent shooting on 8.9 attempts per game. He is a highly efficient player, as 84.4 percent of his makes last high school season were at the rim.
Alabama
Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets
Alabama baseball cruised to a win over Alabama State on Wednesday night, beating the Hornets 13-4 to complete the season sweep. The Crimson Tide tied a program record with nine stolen bases in one of the stranger contests that will be played this season.
The tone was set for a tumultuous night on the basepaths in the opening minutes of the game. Leadoff batter Bryce Fowler, who exited Tuesday’s game after getting beaned in the head, was walked, and promptly took second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch in Justin Lebron’s at-bat, paving the way for Lebron to steal second when he was ultimately walked as well.
The successful baserunning instantly paid off, as Brady Neal drove both in with a double to left-center field before John Lemm walked two at-bats later. Both runners stole their respective bases on the same pitch in Jason Torres’ plate appearance, meaning that four of the first five batters of the game stole a base.
Alabama has been exceptional on the basepaths, sitting at 30-for-30 on the season. Lebron, who swiped two bags on Wednesday, leads the team with 12. The junior had an up-and-down night, hitting his eighth home run of the season, but also committing an error at shortstop for the fourth consecutive game.
“Get those things out of there now, baby. The dude is unbelievable,” an unconcerned Rob Vaughn said on Tuesday of Lebron’s errors. “We’re going to look up at the end of the year, and that guy is going to have five or six errors, which one he’s got right now, and we’ll be like, ‘Man, that guy is the best of all time to do it.’”
Wednesday’s game was a very prototypical midweek contest with no shortage of quirks and oddities throughout its nearly four-hour runtime. Fifteen Alabama batters were walked, falling just one shy of the program record, and the hit by pitch record was tied as seven batters were plunked.
The game was never competitive from an on-field standpoint. After barely escaping with a 2-1 win in the first matchup with the Hornets two weeks ago, this was a far more accurate representation of what these games typically look like, as Alabama now leads the all-time series 15-0.
Freshman Joe Chiarodo made his first career start, allowing two hits and one walk over two scoreless innings. He was named the winning pitcher. Luke Smyers, Connor Lehman, Anthony Pesci and Tate Robertson were the other pitchers to take the mound. Lehman allowed a three-run blast in the sixth inning, and those were the only runs until the incredibly-named Skywalker Mann drove in a run off Robertson in the ninth.
Perhaps the most shocking figure from the game was that Alabama had 19 runners left on base. The Crimson Tide left the bases loaded in four different innings. As stated, this was just a bizarre baseball game across the board. With the midweeks out of the way, the Crimson Tide gets to prepare for its final weekend tune-up before SEC play as North Florida heads into Tuscaloosa on Friday.
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