By Adam Krohn
High School football is a sport that is intended to help build young men into successful adults.
The sport teaches them the importance of teamwork, setting goals, hard work and all those annoying things kids don’t feel they need in order to grow up.
And to show young men the way to the real world are the adults who work for the schools in which these youngsters attend.
But in Canton, there’s an employee for Sequoyah High School that is absolutely providing students with the wrong idea of how to act now and in the future.
I’m referring to the public address announcer for the Chiefs’ football team.
His name is Ray Alexander, and he’s notorious for making inappropriate comments during games. He was up to his unprofessional behavior last Friday night when Murray County traveled to Canton to play the Chiefs.
In between the third and fourth quarter — unknown to the Murray County band and Indians fans — Sequoyah had planned to honor a retiring police officer.
Anyone that’s been to a Murray County football game knows the Indians’ band plays one of their longest sets in that same time frame.
Having not been made aware of the Chiefs’ tribute, the band started its routine and unknowingly played during the ceremony.
Alexander sarcastically thanked the band for playing over the ceremony. The rude tone in his voice understandably drew some boos from the Murray County side of the stands and those fans still weren’t aware the band had interrupted anything. That only incited the announcer more. He proceeded to insult the Indians’ fans, players and coaches when he said, “You can boo all you want, but you’re still losing 49-0,” and then mumbled something about Murray County’s decision to agree to a running clock in the fourth quarter.
There is no reason for that comment to be made. It wasn’t fair to Murray’s players, the coaching staff in the press box in close proximity to Alexander, or the fans to be so rudely treated by the PA guy.
Indians coach Josh Lowe runs a respectable program and would in no way tolerate the band playing over another school’s ceremony, as Alexander accused them of doing. The bottom line is no one bothered to let the Indians know about the ceremony plans.
But that didn’t matter to Alexander. To him, it was another opportunity to be rude to the visiting team, a habit he apparently has a free hand to exercise.
But it wasn’t just Murray County that Alexander was going after.
As is the case in games reporters cover, we can often report scores of interest to the game announcer and they are forwarded on to the fans in attendance. It’s a simple process and done at most every school in the state.
But Alexander felt the need to turn it into something more. When I learned of the Dalton-Northwest Whitfield score, which at the time was 13-7, I let him know. Alexander announced the score and then added, “But then again, who cares?”
Was he serious? Is that what announcing at Sequoyah High has been reduced to?
If so, I suggest that the school run a “Bring your own megaphone” promotion so all the fans can scream whatever obnoxious, disparaging thought is on their mind.
In Alexander’s mind, he’s helping to create a tough environment for opponents to walk into, a place opponents dread.
Newsflash: Chiefs coach Sid Maxwell’s game plan, Dominique Swope’s powerful running and Sequoyah’s physical defense are what make Skip Pope Stadium, home of the Chiefs, a tough environment for the opposing teams. Not inflammatory remarks coming from Alexander’s mouth.
There are ways for a guy like Alexander to have fun with the announcing, but Friday night was not a good example.
If administrators with authority at Sequoyah High care about the school’s reputation, they should strongly encourage Alexander to tone it down. Otherwise, the Chiefs’ football team will be known as one with a good coach, outstanding players and an obnoxious public address guy who should at all costs be ignored.
Adam Krohn is a sportswriter for The Daily Citizen.
