Tennessee

2 members of expelled ‘Tennessee Three’ vie to win back their legislative seats

Published

10 months ago

August 3, 2023

2 members of expelled ‘Tennessee Three’ vie to win back their legislative seats

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who became Democratic heroes as members of the “Tennessee Three,” are hoping to once again reclaim their legislative seats Thursday after they were expelled for involvement in a gun control protest on the House floor.

The young Black lawmakers were both reinstated by local officials, but only on an interim basis. To fully take back their positions, they must advance through a special election. Both easily cleared their primary election in June, and now face general election opponents for districts that heavily favor Democrats.

Jones, who lives in Nashville, is up against Republican candidate Laura Nelson. Meanwhile, Pearson, from Memphis, faces independent candidate Jeff Johnston.

“Let’s send a clear message to everyone who thought they could silence the voice of District 86,” Pearson tweeted earlier this month. “You can’t expel a movement!”

Jones and Pearson were elected to the GOP-dominated Statehouse last year. Both lawmakers flew relatively under the radar, even as they criticized their Republican colleagues’ policies. It wasn’t until this spring that their political careers received a boost when they joined fellow Democrat Rep. Gloria Johnson in a protest for more gun control on the House floor.

The demonstration took place just days after a fatal shooting in Nashville at a private Christian school where a shooter killed three children and three adults. As thousands of protesters flooded the Capitol building to demand that the Republican supermajority enact some sort of restrictions on firearms, the three lawmakers approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn, and joined the protesters’ chants and cries for action.

Republican lawmakers quickly declared that their actions violated House rules and moved to expel their three colleagues — an extraordinary move that’s been taken only a handful of times since the Civil War.

The move briefly left about 140,000 voters in primarily Black districts in Nashville and Memphis with no representation in the Tennessee House.

Ultimately, Johnson, who is white, narrowly avoided expulsion while Pearson and Jones were booted by the predominantly white GOP caucus.

House Republican leaders have repeatedly denied that race was a factor in the expulsion hearings. Democrats have disagreed, with Johnson countering that the only reason that she wasn’t expelled was due to her being white.

The expulsions drew national support for the newly dubbed “Tennessee Three,” especially for Pearson and Jones’ campaign fundraising. The two raised more than $2 million combined through about 70,400 campaign donations from across the country. The amount is well beyond the norm for Tennessee’s Republican legislative leaders and virtually unheard of for two freshman Democrats in a superminority.

Meanwhile, more than 15 Republican lawmakers have funneled cash to fund campaign efforts of Jones’ Republican opponent, Laura Nelson. Nelson has raised more than $34,000 for the race. Pearson’s opponent, Jeff Johnston, has raised less than $400 for the contest.

Thursday’s election will also influence two other legislative seats.

In Nashville, community organizer Aftyn Behn and former Metro Councilmember Anthony Davis are currently vying to advance to the general election for a House seat in a district in the city’s northeastern region that opened after Democratic Rep. Bill Beck died in June.

Meanwhile, in eastern Tennessee, Republican Timothy Hill will face Democrat Lori Love in a general election for Republican-leaning District 3. The seat was left empty when former Republican Rep. Scotty Campbell resigned following a finding that he had violated the Legislature’s workplace discrimination and harassment policy.

Hill served in the state House from 2012 until 2020 and rose to the position of majority whip. He later left his seat to run for an open U.S. House seat in 2020, but lost in a crowded primary to current Republican U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger.

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Tennessee

Why does Lady Vols softball wear blue uniforms? Explaining story behind ‘Summitt Blue’ jersey

Published

43 mins ago

May 24, 2024

Press Room

Why does Lady Vols softball wear blue uniforms? Explaining story behind ‘Summitt Blue’ jersey

Tune into a playoff game for the first time and you will come across some unique, and maybe outlandish, uniforms that teams wear. It’s even the strategy some use to make their bracket come March Madness.

Tennessee softball is one of them.

The No. 3 seed Lady Vols (43-10 overall, 19-5) are playing for their ninth berth to the Women’s College World Series this weekend in the Knoxville Super Regional against SEC-foe No. 14 seed Alabama, starting on Friday, May 24 at 4 p.m. ET.

REQUIRED READING: Why it’s special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional

Though the Lady Vols wear “traditional” Tennessee color uniforms, white and “Smokey Grey” they also have an alternate uniform that stands out on TV: “Summitt Blue.”

And so, as the Lady Vols look to pick up two more wins to return to the WCWS for the second straight year, curiosity has risen on the origin story of their “Summitt Blue” uniforms and why the Lady Vols wear them. Here’s what you need to know:

Why does Lady Vols softball wear blue uniforms?

To the average fan who does not pay close attention to Lady Vols games, blue may not look right in the color scheme for Tennessee — considering the Vols logo is orange and the men’s basketball and football programs alternate between white, orange and “Smokey Grey” uniforms — and that is a fair assessment, but there is some history to it.

And it is a two-fold answer.

The “blue accent color”, as it was called by Tennessee’s website, first debuted with the Lady Vols women’s basketball team in 1968 due to uniform manufacturing companies not offering orange uniforms. In response to this, Tennessee’s women’s athletic director emeritus Joan Cronan decided on the Lady Vols home uniforms to be Columbia blue with orange lettering and piping on them. That is how the “blue accent” was born.

But in 2022, as part of the NCAA celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Tennessee renamed its “blue accent color” to “Summitt Blue” in honor of legendary Lady Vols and women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt. Summitt, of course, was a pioneer for women’s sports across her 38-year career coaching on Rocky Top, which featured eight national championships and a 1,098-208 career coaching record.

That season, Tennessee unveiled “Summitt Blue” uniforms for women’s basketball, women’s soccer, softball and volleyball.

“Tennessee’s history as a worldwide leader in women’s athletics, along with the Lady Vols’ unique legacy of excellence are traditions we are proud to celebrate,” Tennessee vice chancellor and director of athletics Danny White said in a 2022 press release. “As some of our teams recently saw their new Summitt Blue uniforms for the first time, they reacted with a joy and enthusiasm that I hope will extend to our fans and proud alumni.”

Tennessee softball team first debuted its “Summitt Blue” uniforms down Puerto Vallarta, Mexico last season for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. Since then, the uniform has stayed in the rotation as the Lady Vols also wear their traditional white uniform with orange lettering and piping down the side and “Smokey Grey” uniform with orange lettering and piping down the side during weekend series.

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Tennessee

Tennessee driving courses aiming to prevent dangerous drivers

Published

8 hours ago

May 23, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee driving courses aiming to prevent dangerous drivers

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -The “100 Deadliest Days of Summer” begins following Memorial Day. This period goes until Labor Day and marks a time when teenage drivers are more at risk on the road.

“It can get really dangerous. You’ve been in school, you’re ready to get out and have some fun, and you have to realize your focus has to be on the driving,” Drive-Rite owner Craig Smith said.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security released data regarding crash statistics in Tennessee. The study showed trends and numbers of crashes, including crashes involving drivers aged 15-19.

The study found that in 2023, Knox County had 20,300 licensed drivers aged 15-19; of that number, 1,749 were involved in car accidents.

Craig Smith has been a driving instructor for 36 years; he says distracted driving plays a significant role in teenage car accidents.

“Your hands off the wheel, your eyes are on the screen, and your mind is thinking about what song am I trying to find,” Smith said. “That’s three distractions at the same time.”

According to the study, since 2019, the number of licensed drivers aged 15-19 has gone up in Knox County, but the total number of accidents in that group has gone down. Smith says the types of new drivers getting their licenses are learning how to be safer on the road.

“The best safety device ever designed; if you ask that question, people will say airbags, seatbelts. The best safety device is somebody that knows what to do and does it,” Smith said.

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Tennessee

Tennessee Football Returns to Neyland Stadium in 100 Days | Rocky Top Insider

Published

15 hours ago

May 23, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee Football Returns to Neyland Stadium in 100 Days | Rocky Top Insider

Tennessee Football. Photo by Ric Butler/Rocky Top Insider.

The countdown is officially on.

There are 100 days left on the calendar until Tennessee’s season opener as of Thursday.

While the summer doesn’t present too many storylines heading into the fall, the big note to look for during July is SEC Media Days. The addition of Texas and Oklahoma into the Southeastern Conference only adds to the magnitude of the upcoming season, with perhaps no better fitting place for the event than Dallas, TX.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is set for Day 2 of the event on July 16 alongside Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz, and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables.

Training camp will begin in August on the other side of SEC Media Days as Tennessee gets ready for the season ahead. The Vols have been commonly tagged as a Top 20 preseason team on the fringe of the Top 15 with quarterback Nico Iamaleava as a darkhorse Heisman contender. Tennessee also boasts EDGE rusher James Pearce Jr., who could solidify his spot as the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with a strong showing.

Tennessee opens up the 2024 season in a home contest against Chattanooga on August 31. The Vols will quickly hit the road, though, with a likely Top 25 non-conference game under the lights in Charlotte, NC, against NC State in week two. Tennessee then returns home for a non-conference game against Kent State before taking off for unfamiliar territory in their first SEC game against Oklahoma in Norman, OK.

After an open date closes the final weekend of September for Tennessee, the Vols head out to Arkansas for a second-straight road SEC game to open the conference slate before returning to Knoxville for a pair of high-profile rivalry games. Tennessee will host Florida and Alabama in back-to-back weeks in October before another open date closes down the month.

With five weekends in the month of November, Tennessee will face their longest stretch of games to close the season with back-to-back home games against Kentucky and Mississippi State before traveling to Athens, GA, for a matchup with Georgia on Nov. 16. Tennessee then returns home for the home-finale against UTEP before the season-finale against Vanderbilt in Nashville.