BROWN: On Tasha and Stetson

Published 5:00 pm Friday, April 14, 2023

Congratulations to Baldwin’s own Tasha Butts, the new head women’s basketball coach at Georgetown University.

Must share this coincidence. Tasha Butts played at the University of Tennessee under the legendary Pat Summitt. That was from 2000-2004, and the Lady Vols were still a national factor as three out of her four years Tennessee made the women’s Final Four. They lost two national championship games to UConn, which is now a team she will try to beat in the Big East Conference.

That is quite a coincidence, but not the one I had in mind.

It has to do with the last name, and the fact that Tasha was one of the – if not the No. 1 – all-time greats of her high school program in Georgia (though I see a few current players challenging that distinction) who took her game to Knoxville.

It’s another way of connecting places where I’ve worked in this sports journalism career.

Before I arrived in Americus in 1999, a basketball player named Niya Butts was piecing together a remarkable prep career. She became the school’s all-time leading scorer, and in 1996 she joined the Tennessee Volunteers. Niya played on three national championship finalists wearing orange and white, losing her final game to those same Huskies. But in 1997 and 1998 she was victorious, the 1998 team going 39-0.

This Niya Butts also went into college basketball coaching, starting as an assistant in places like Michigan State and Kentucky. For eight years, 2008-16, she was the head coach for women’s hoops at Arizona.

Unfortunately, she only had one winning season, and she returned to Kentucky now serving as associate head coach.

•••

There are certain television programs I never cared to watch. Some are very popular.

One of the original reality-based series was “Cops.” Sorry, but I don’t get entertained by watching people getting arrested under a night sky.

It wasn’t on this show, but recently an interaction with law enforcement caught my attention.

While starting this career in Wayne County, I got to know members of the Stetson Bennett family. I am talking about the longtime Clerk of Courts for the county, the second to carry that first name. The two-time national championship winning UGA quarterback (the IV) was yet to be born. We have never met.

The last two football seasons, I watched numerous games on television where Bennett helped lead my favorite team to victory.

Perhaps I should be a defender of his no matter what. Perhaps this is a dead horse that should be left alone.

But upon seeing – thanks to the TMZ site – three types of footage taken in Dallas, Texas, in January, some comment is still to be made. I know at the NFL Combine, Bennett apologized for his actions, apologized to his family, that is. I don’t know if one was offered to the person who called 911 about somebody knocking on her door and yelling at a late hour.

Give credit to the law enforcement officers who did respond. Nobody seemed to be star-struck when learning whom they were dealing with. Due to the fact that is was a public intoxication incident, Bennett may not be able to recall where he was or what was said. The footage should help. I didn’t see any unreasonable treatment given to him; in fact, it was a great display of patience when their subject couldn’t/wouldn’t answer their initial questions (another case of unknown apologies).

Again, we have never met. No judgement is being rendered here. In fact, here’s hoping he finds success in professional football. He’s obviously not even looking at the XFL or USFL or else he would be signed up right now.