Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Kenny Anderson

Former NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson has resigned as head men’s basketball coach at Fisk University after five seasons at the helm, per an announcement on Saturday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I will enjoy my life, but I will miss everyone at Fisk University,” Anderson posted Saturday morning. “I have been here for five years and truly love it. My daughter graduated from here! I don’t know what else to say!”

Anderson, 53, took over as men’s basketball coach to turn the program around. The 2023-24 season was his most successful as the Bulldogs finished the season 14-16, losing to Dillard in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference semifinals.

Anderson’s career record at Fisk stands at 43-95 overall and 25-34 in GCAC play.

Anderson played 15 seasons in the NBA, including making the Eastern Conference All-Star team as a member of the New Jersey Nets in 1994.

OJ Simpson

 No matter what you think,  if he done it or not, he was acquitted!  LONG before the Bronco chase gripped a national television audience and the “Trial of the Century” captivated the country, OJ Simpson was making his mark on the football field and television.

The Juice was the best running back of his era during an 11-year NFL career mostly played with the Buffalo Bills. Everybody tuned in on Sundays to watch ” The Juice-No. 32,.”  He won a national championship and a Heisman Trophy in college and set records in the NFL and became one of the first Blacks to get commercials running through airports as a Hertz spokesman.  Simpson also was the first to be a Sports analyst on a network.  But Simpson’s accomplishments on the field were overshadowed and his image was forever ruined by alleged charges that he killed his former wife and her male friend in 1994. Though he was acquitted of murder,  the acquittal set the country into a racial divide. Blacks and Whites were at war with the decision. Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a separate civil case.

The verdict tarnished Simpson’s  legacy that resulted in a muted reaction to the news of his death last Thursday. He wasn’t acknowledged publicly by the NFL, the Bills or the San Francisco 49ers, where he played his final two seasons. An ill-advised Caitlin Jenner tweeted “Good Riddance” which sparked an outcry by Nightcap Shannon “Unc”  Sharp and Chad “Ocho”  Johnson stating “foul”.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame issued a statement attributed to its President Jim Porter that said: “OJ Simpson was the first player to reach a rushing mark many thought could not be attained in a 14-game season when he topped 2,000 yards. His on-field contributions will be preserved in the Hall’s archives in Canton, Ohio.”

Simpson’s name remains on the Bills’ Wall of Fame, which rings the inside of Highmark Stadium, known as Rich Stadium during his playing days. That could change in a few years when the Bills move into a new stadium set to open across the street in 2026. Fans previously petitioned the team to remove Simpson’s name from the wall.

Otherwise, there are very few reminders of Simpson’s time playing in Buffalo. No statues. Many of his teammates and friends have moved away or died.

Ja Morant 

In a win for Ja Morant, a Tennessee judge ruled Monday that the Memphis Grizzlies superstar fairly raised self-defense in a lawsuit filed by a teenager he punched in July 2022, according to a court filing obtained by ESPN.

The ruling comes after a December 2023 civil immunity hearing in Memphis, where Morant testified that he “swung first” at Joshua Holloway, then 17, to protect himself during an altercation that led to Holloway filing a September 2022 lawsuit accusing Morant of assault.

The altercation came about during a pickup basketball game. Holloway, allegedly frustrated by losing several games, was accused of throwing a one-handed pass at Morant during a check-ball situation.

The ball hit Morant in the face, after which Morant said Holloway took a step toward him and that he then stepped forward and punched Holloway.

After that blow, Morant’s friend, Davonte Pack, punched Holloway — an act for which Pack was later arrested for misdemeanor assault. The charge against Pack was later dismissed.

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Ja Morant