Mississippi state Senator Jeremy England has responded to comments about a photo of him in a pink Halloween costume. The Republican lawmaker says he intentionally wore what he considers a “very embarrassing” Halloween costume to raise money for breast cancer research.
The original 2020 photo sees England in a shiny pink bodysuit with a fluffy pink tutu, sporting hair dyed pink. After it circulated, some critics even calling England an anti-LGBTQ+ slur. England says that he was “being bullied” and was “receiving threats” in a Facebook post on Wednesday following the post’s spike in popularity.
In actuality, England was posed for a photo while he was participating in a 2020 fundraiser for Men Wear Pink. The fundraiser is held by the American Cancer Society, with an initiative intended to raise awareness for breast cancer to end the illness.
“So now I find myself being personally attacked,” England wrote in the post. “If you know me, you know that I am honest. You know that I am a Christian, a devoted husband and father, and I am humbly honored to serve as Senator for District 51. I have no shame in the pictures being shared, I only wish it was being shared to help raise money for breast cancer awareness as intended.”
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The news comes as a tense GOP primary is underway in Mississippi. England currently backs Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann for reelection as the state’s second-highest-ranking official. Someone in support of one of Hosemann’s opponents tweeted the pink image with the caption, “Hosemann and his groomer weirdos.” (The tweet has since been deleted.)
“I consider that to be some of the worst, dirty form of politics—which is, of course, where we are now in this race,” England said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The word “groomer” has become a smear to falsely claim that LGBTQ+ people—or anyone ignoring gender norms, as England is only wearing pink—are encouraging pedophilia.
England has used the smear campaign against him and Hosemann to garner more attention for breast cancer fundraising. While the photos were the talk of the town in Mississippi, England restarted another Men Wear Pink online fundraiser to raise more money for breast cancer research. It has raised over $5,000 in the past four days.
England also shared an incident in which state Senator and fellow Republican Melanie Sojourner sent him the tutu photo with no context. Sojourner is also the campaign manager for Hosemann opponent Chris McDaniel.
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“It was obvious that she was sending that to me as a threat,” England said.
In another interview with The Associated Press, Sojourner says that the text exchange was “absent of any intention to threaten and/or bully Sen. England.”
“As the jokester of the Senate chamber, Sen. England’s newfound decorum is both ironic and bizarre,” Sojourner said. “Sen. England is crying foul purely to score political points for his enabler in chief, Delbert Hosemann.”
During the Nov. 7 general election this year, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor—which could be either McDaniel or Hosemann—will face Democrat D. Ryan Grover.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Josh Hubbard scored 26 points and Claudell Harris Jr. added 20 Monday night to help Mississippi State beat West Georgia 95-60 in the season opener for both teams.
Hubbard — and All-Southeastern Conference second-team selection — and Harris each hit six of Mississippi State’s 14 3-pointers. The Bulldogs made 36 of 65 (55%) from the field, shot 47% from behind the arc and scored 31 points off 20 West Georgia turnovers.
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Kanye Clary stole a pass and then fed KeShawn Murphy for a dunk 13 seconds into the game that made it 2-0 and Mississippi State never trailed. Hubbard hit two 3-pointers in a 12-2 run capped when he threw down a dunk that made it 14-4.
Tamaury Releford scored the final nine points in a 12-0 spurt that trimmed West Georgia’s deficit to 24-21 about five minutes later but Harris made four 3-pointers — the last coming with 3 seconds left — to give the Bulldogs an 11-point halftime lead.
Shelton Williams-Dryden scored in the paint to open the scoring in the second half and make it 40-31 but Hubbard answered with a 3-pointer with and Mississippi State led by double figures the rest of the way.
Releford led the Wolves with 16 points and Kolten Griffin scored 13. Williams-Dryden finished with 10 rebounds to go with nine points.
Harris, who transferred from Boston College after two seasons at Charleston Southern, came into this season with 1,318 career points.
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STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State football didn’t have many changes to its depth chart for this week’s game at No. 7 Tennessee.
That’s not very surprising, but a look at both team’s depth charts reveals a potetional problem for Mississippi State, one that it is familiar with.
The Bulldogs’ defensive line is significantly smaller than the starting offensive line for Tennessee. The smallest Volunteer lineman weighs 310 lbs. Mississippi State has just two defensive line who tip the scales past 300 lbs. and they are Sulaiman Kpaka (300 lbs.) and Kai McClendon (305 lbs.).
That size discrepancy has already caused problems for the Bulldogs this season and, most likely, that trend is going to continue this Saturday night.
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Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. (0) runs the ball against the Massachusetts Minutemen during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. / Matt Bush-Imagn Images
QB1 – 0 Michael Van Buren Jr., 6-1, 200 lbs., Fr. QB2 – 16 Chris Parson, 6-1, 215 lbs., Rs Fr.
Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Davon Booth (21) runs the ball against Massachusetts Minutemen linebacker Christian LeBrun (17) during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. / Matt Bush-Imagn Images
Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. (3) runs for a touchdown while defended by Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Doneiko Slaughter (3) during the third quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. / Matt Bush-Imagn Images
WR1 – 6 Jordan Mosley, 6-0, 195 lbs., Jr. WR2 – 5 Braylon Burnside, 6-0, 200 lbs., Fr.
WR1 – 7 Mario Craver 5-10, 170 lbs., Fr. -or- 1 Kelly Akharaiyi 6-1, 200 lbs., Sr. WR2 – 9 Ricky Johnson 6-2, 185 lbs., Fr.
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Mississippi State Bulldogs tight end Seydou Traore (18) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
RT1 – 76 Albert Reese IV, 6-7, 330 lbs., Jr. RT2 – 74 Jimothy Lewis Jr., 6-6, 310 lbs., Fr.
Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive end De’Monte Russell (9) reacts after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. / Matt Bush-Imagn Images
DT1 – 8 Sulaiman Kpaka, 6-3, 300 lbs., Sr. – or – 90 Kai McClendon, 6-2, 305 lbs., Fr.
DE1 – 9 De’Monte Russell, 6-4, 285 lbs., Sr. DE2 – 91 Deonte Anderson, 6-3, 270 lbs., Jr. – or – 46 Joseph Head Jr., 6-4, 240 lbs., R-Fr.
Mississippi State Bulldogs linebacker Stone Blanton (7) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
JLB1 – 11 Ty Cooper, 6-4, 245 lbs., Jr. – or – 44 Branden Jennings, 6-3, 240 lbs., Jr.
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MLB1 – 7 Stone Blanton, 6-2, 230 lbs., Jr. MLB2 – 26 JP Purvis, 6-1, 245 lbs., Sr.
DLB1 – 40 Nic Mitchell, 6-2, 230 lbs., Jr. – or – 5 John Lewis, 6-3, 240 lbs., Jr. DLB2 – 16 Zakari Tillman, 6-2, 225 lbs., So.
STAR1 – 2 Isaac Smith, 6-0, 205 lbs., So. STAR2 – 28 Tanner Johnson 6-0 185 So. – or – 15 Kobi Albert 5-11 180 R-So.
Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Isaiah Sategna (6) runs the ball while defended by Mississippi State Bulldogs safety Corey Ellington (10) during the fourth quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. / Matt Bush-Imagn Images
SS1 – 21 Hunter Washington, 5-11, 190 lbs., Jr. SS2 – 27 Chris Keys Jr., 6-0, 190 lbs., Jr. – or – 17 Jordan Morant, 6-0, 210 lbs., Sr.
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Texas Longhorns receiver Matthew Golden (2) is grabbed by the facemask by Mississippi State Bulldogs safety Brylan Lanier (3) during a game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. / Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
Tennessee football tickets are in high demand, both home and away. But you can still get them for the right price.
At Neyland Stadium, UT season tickets are sold out for the 2024 season, and there’s a waiting list of almost 15,000. Single-game tickets through UT’s official ticket office went on sale this summer, but they were snatched up fast.
There are still a few Tennessee football tickets available through Ticketmaster, UT’s official vendor. But the secondary ticket market offers plenty of other options.
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This week, Tennessee plays Mississippi State in their first meeting since 2019. And prices, as expected, are in high demand.
See Tennessee football ticket prices for every game this season
Tennessee tickets vs Mississippi State
No. 7 Tennessee plays Mississippi State at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
Ticket prices start at $122 on Vivid Seats, $145 on StubHub and $148 on SeatGeek for upper-level seats, plus fees, which vary by vendor. And they start at $150 on Ticketmaster and $164 on TickPick, including fees.
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Lower bowl tickets start at $155 on Vivid Seats, $171 on StubHub and $178 on SeatGeek, plus fees. And they start at $181 on Ticketmaster and $206 on TickPick, including fees.
To see a full list of ticket prices, visit Vivid Seats, StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster and TickPick.
Tennessee football schedule 2024
Aug. 31: Chattanooga (W, 69-3)
Sept. 7: vs. NC State (W, 51-10)
Sept. 14: vs. Kent State (W, 71-0)
Sept. 21: at Oklahoma (W, 25-15)
Oct. 5: at Arkansas (L, 19-14)
Oct. 12: Florida (W, 23-17 OT)
Oct. 19: No. 11 Alabama (W, 24-17)
Nov. 2: Kentucky (W, 28-18)
Nov. 9: Mississippi State
Nov. 16: at No. 2 Georgia
Nov. 23: UTEP
Nov. 30: at Vanderbilt
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