(This is a column of opinion by Curtis Rockwell, Sports Director at South Miss 6 Sports)

Just over two weeks ago, legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

The honor came five years after Brees, the only signal-caller to guide the Saints to a Super Bowl title, retired from the NFL after 20 years.

However, at Pascagoula High School, they have a quarterback that was placed into something quickly created last year called the “Ring of Honor,” just over three months after his graduating class received their diplomas.

Yes, you read that correctly, as ridiculous as it may seem.

First, let me make this as clear as it can possibly be. This is not meant as an attack or a “knock” against any former Panther players — not in any way shape or form, and far from it. I’ve enjoyed documenting the exploits of hundreds of such players over the years. And quite a few of them deserve some type of recognition for their performances at the proper time.

What follows is an indictment of some adults that often are afforded way too much power for decision-making purposes in some organizations that govern these once-revered institutions, that for selfish reasons have stepped in when they should have been thwarted.

The once hallowed halls of honor, such as “Hall of Fame” and “Ring of Honor,” are being tarnished because of moves like this. It’s disrespectful to those past players that deserve to be in these type of institutions because their play has withstood the test of time.

Since their inception many years ago, any type of these hallowed halls have always had some type of grace period, or waiting period, if you will, stating that a certain time frame must pass after a player completes his or her career to even be considered for this type of recognition. Most are at least five years, but in most cases at least a decade.

For instance, the aforementioned Drew Brees. Heck, even the Saints waited four years after Brees left the team before inducting him into their own HOF.

“You need some kind of waiting period, like five years.” one longtime observer who has documented prep sports for several decades in the Gulf South region, said. “You don’t put a person in the Hall of Fame or Ring of Honor a year or two after they get done playing. There’s a reason for that, so that the people voting can put things in their proper historical context.”

Apparently, that word didn’t trickle down to east Jackson County. Well, at least in this case anyway.

Another, this one a longtime journalist in South Mississippi that has covered everything from high school state championships to several Super Bowls said this…

“It’s pretty ridiculous if you really think about it.” he said. “With no grace period in place, it completely disrespects the entire selection process for these types of ventures and is kind of a slap in the face to those past athletes.”

Already in place for Pascagoula was the Pascagoula Athletic Hall of Fame, which was founded over a decade ago. That particular organization has been extremely efficient in its vetting process to choose and select possible future inductees. A former player must be out of high school for at least 10 years before he or she can be considered for such an honor.

They do it like it should be done.

They don’t allow one single individual that is involved in the booster club that has a self-serving agenda in mind, to usurp these all-important guidelines just for the sake of personal glory.

One person that is involved with the “Ring of Honor” process in Pascagoula said this to me — “this is for record holders in football only.”

Oh, OK. So in that case, it’s possible, not probable, but possible, that for the next 18 straight seasons a different quarterback could break the single-season passing mark at Pascagoula and all 18 of these players would be inducted into the “Ring of Honor” three months after graduating?

So, you’d have 20-plus signal-callers all in the same institution lined up alongside the legendary Shane Matthews, the greatest quarterback in program history, and honored in the same fashion?

Sounds sort of ridiculous, right? I agree.

But the shenanigans don’t stop there in Jackson County. Just a hop, skip and a jump shot across Jefferson Street, the fairly new Moss Point Sports Hall of Fame recently made just as big of a mistake when its third class was announced.

In this case, a former player was selected for the honor who was not much more than an above-average player in his best days for the Tigers.

He averaged 14 points per game and five rebounds in his senior season, which was his “best” year at MPHS.

Heck, he wasn’t even the best player on that team that particular season. The best player, John Henry McArthur, earned All-State honors by scoring over 20 points per game, leading the Tigers in scoring and being given all-state status that year.

The problem with this type of action is that the selection committee has seemingly given in to social media pressure from a small, but vocal, bunch. The vetting process in this case went awry.

When the announcement came from the MPHSOF committee, it stated that the player in question was described as being “First Team 5A All South Mississippi…”

Only problem is, there was no classification system in place in the state of Mississippi his senior season. That wasn’t implemented until the next school year. And MPHS wasn’t a 5A program until five years later.

So that means that this guy, one day, will take his place in the basketball wing at MPHS along with the likes of Devin Booker and Litterial Green. All because no one bothered checking out and verifying his nomination form?

Wow.

I believe in providing avenues to recognize the exploits of former standout athletes in all sports. However, impartial adults have to be given the power to create the process for that to come to fruition in a respectful manner. And a proper vetting process should be one of the first priorities.

And I know some folks will go to social media and talk bad about me and call me names because of my stance here. And that’s OK, because this is my opinion.

And, in most cases, that will be just their guilt from being involved in the process bubbling over to the surface.

But I’ve covered prep sports in all parts of South Mississippi for most of the past four decades. And I’ve learned how these once hallowed halls of fame and honor should be handled.

These two cases ain’t the right way, y’all.

(This is a column of opinion by Curtis Rockwell, Sports Director at South Miss 6 Sports)