Who Is a Public Person?/Jonathan Knight Bites the Dust?

Greg Scoggins, aka Deerslayer

We've published our policy on blogging on arrests, etc., many times. We seem to have some obtuse readers who don't get it or pretend they don't. Since yesterday we received some requests to report on the misdemeanor arrest of a Lauderdale County man. We chose not to, and a Muscle Shoals reader has questioned us repeatedly.

In the simplest terms, we blog on misdemeanor arrests if they involve a PUBLIC PERSON. What is a public person?

1. A celebrity. If Mick Jagger gets a DUI in Sheffield, we'll probably mention it.

2. An elected or employed official who holds our safety and the public well-being in his/her hands. A judge hires his entire family? Yes. A police officer goes hunting on city time and kills a sheltered animal that basically belongs to all taxpayers? Yes. A park employee gets arrested for misdemeanor theft on his lunch hour? No.

3. A person who injects himself/herself into the public eye. A man holds a news conference stating he was abused by city officials in some manner and has a record of falsely claiming the same in several cities he's lived in the past 40 years? Yes.

4. A person currently in the legal system. This includes anyone currently under arrest or indictment, in prison, or on probation. In other words, if a man on probation for felony bank robbery is arrested for misdemeanor assault, we would feel free to publish this arrest. What if a man killed his brother-in-law, three neighbors, and seventeen chickens 30 years ago, completed his sentence, then received that ubiquitous DUI in Sheffield? No. We'll note that sex offenders never leave the legal system.

No, JT, Greg Scoggins doesn't have to be John Dillinger's brother. If you don't understand why he's a public person and the brother of a local sociopath isn't, we're very uncertain on how to elucidate you.

*****

We have received the following statement from an extremely reliable source. We are choosing to publish it as it was written to us. We welcome any comments and rebuttals.

Monday evening, Athletic Director called a “secret baseball” meeting with Superintendent Brian Lindsey, MSHS Principal Chad Holden & MSHS Head Baseball Coach Josh Fowler.  Basden instructed Josh Fowler to fire Head Coach for MSMS 7^th & 8^th grade Baseball immediately.  Even though Coach Knight had a winning season or 32-4 record for 2015.  He has been Head Coach for the last 4 years and made a Huge impact on the Middle school baseball program.  Basden’s reason for Knight’s firing was “a parent approached him regarding a conflict of interest in Knight having a child on the Varsity Baseball team and him being a Middle School coach.  The majority of coaches at Muscle Shoals also have children in sports in the high school or middle school problem.  Baseball parents and players believe that Basden is penalizing Knight because his son is not playing Varsity Football this season.  Coach Knight has been fired with unjust cause!

Shoalanda