Harlon Hill's Son Cries Nepotism

Jerry Hill, son of acclaimed Alabama and U.S. footballer Harlon Hill, has cried nepotism in the world of Lauderdale County education. First, this is not news; second...well, our blog title speaks for itself.

Hill, 52, ran for superintendent four years ago as an Independent. Now he will give it a try as a Democrat. He called education a "business" in his interview with the TimesDaily. While we agree that almost anything these days is a business, we hope those who truly care about education see it as a way of life and a way in which to insure future generations live up to their potential. Seeing it as simply a business is one reason our local system has so many current problems.

From Hill's bio: Coach Jerry Hill is beginning his seventh year as the head football coach at Brooks High School. Coach Hill is a 1977 graduate of Brooks, where he lettered in football, basketball and track. He attended the University of North Alabama on a football scholarship and was an 11th round draft pick of the Washington Redskins of the NFL in 1981. Coach Hill is married to the former Mary Beth Goad, who is also a Brooks graduate. They have one son, Austin, who is a 2010 graduate of Brooks.

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A cautionary tale about nepotism: Once upon a time in a land far removed from here, a coach caught an intruder in his home. He immediately recognized the would be burglar as a former student who had relatives in the county in which he toiled. Did it matter that the young man had seemed never to do anything right in his life? We admit it would be a tough call.

Instead of turning the young man over to authorities, the coach called the boy's father who promised to get him into rehab. The young man hasn't made any news since then, so we may assume he did go and it did work. We've also heard that others this boy had sought to harm also came out on top in the end. Did this coach make the right decision? It would seem to depend upon whether it was your home or car this young man had previously broken into or your child he had tried to snatch. These victims vote also.



Shoalanda

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