JACKSON, Miss. – The Confederate symbol on the Mississippi flag could hurt the state’s bid to host the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament starting in 2012 because some people find the emblem offensive, a top conference official said Tuesday.
“It would not be a 100 percent deal breaker on any kind of bid that Jackson may submit. However, it would be something we would have to consider in evaluating all the bids,” Craig Mattox, the SEC assistant commissioner for championships, told The Associated Press.
South Carolina has encountered a similar problem for the past decade because of the NAACP’s boycott over a Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds. Shortly after the boycott started on Jan. 1, 2000, the NCAA executive committee decided it wouldn’t award predetermined championships like basketball regionals to South Carolina.
Since 1894, the Mississippi flag has included the Confederate battle emblem – 13 white stars on a blue X over a red field. In a statewide election with strong turnout in 2001, residents voted 65 percent to 35 percent to keep the symbol on the flag. The turnout roughly reflected the percentages of Mississippi’s Black and White population.
The flag has remained a sore spot and some groups, including the NAACP, say the Confederate emblem is a reminder of slavery and segregation and does not represent the entire state. Flag supporters say it represents history and heritage.
Republican John Moore, a Mississippi state representative who supports the state flag, said the Confederate emblem should be no more offensive to anyone than a picture of a cotton ball on a T-shirt.
“I’d almost be willing to tell the SEC to take their tournament wherever they want to do it,” said Moore, whose district is near Trustmark Park in Pearl, a suburb of Jackson, which is expected to bid on the tournament. “We’re not going to let them dictate to us what our flag looks like.”
