BATON ROUGE - At 12:38 p.m. on the 24th of January, the restaurant
known as The Chimes on Highland Road, near the north gates of
Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, was enjoying
its regularly bustling lunchtime rush. No one seemed to even
shake at the fact that in the early wee hours of that same day
a man was shot at a club located just next door.
Southern Photo
James
Allen
That man was 23-year old Southern University football team
player James Allen. Stated in an official report from the East
Baton Rouge Coroner’s office, the 6-2, 305 lb., sophomore
offensive guard, died of brain trauma after being shot once
in his head after participating in an altercation with an unidentified
male in front The Varsity, a local nightclub.
According to unofficial witness reports, Allen was arguing
with another person outside of Raisin' Canes, a local fast food
restaurant down the block from The Varsity. After leaving the
argument, he was confronted again before entering the club and
was slain. Currently, the Baton Rouge Police Department has
very few leads and is still trying to work things out in the
early stages of their investigation.
"He was an unique individual who had some issues when
he first arrived, but he was turning the corner…trying
to turn his life around," said Jags football head coach
Pete Richardson. "We had planned on him being an intricate
part of our program. He will be sorely missed."
Although the New Orleans native had no major discipline problems
while at Southern, Richardson did acknowledge that when the
Alcee Fortier High School graduate arrived at Southern, he didn’t
take things seriously. Some members of the team remember Allen
as "a regular comedian" and someone who always joked
around.
"He was always jovial…He didn’t take academics
or athletics seriously," said Richardson. "But then
he begin to mature as an individual and I saw a transformation.
His grades improved drastically and his performance."
When asked if he had spoken with Allen’s family, Richardson
said that he had spoken with his aunt, but had yet to speak
with his mother. Richardson has evidently been shaken by the
loss. In the past week, he has lost not only a player, but his
brother in Ohio as well, where he will attend funeral services
Sunday.
Funeral services for Allen have not been determined as of yet,
but Donald Shelmire, president of the Jaguar Athletic Group,
has said the JAG has offered to provide buses to transport the
team to New Orleans to attend the services.
"On behalf of the entire Southern University community…I
extend our deepest sympathy to the family," said SU Athletic
Director Floyd Kerr. "We share in the tremendous grief
as faculty, student-athletes, coaches and staff who knew James."
On Friday, members of the football team met with their head
coach and other personnel of the athletic department. Counselor
Alysius Allen, L.P.C. and Director of the Southern University
Counseling Center ValaRay Irvin, Ph.D. were on hand to accommodate
any feelings or issues that those affected might have.
"What we know right now is that they (the players) are
experiencing shock and disbelief," said Irvin. "We
were there to get together with them collectively or individually…because
it so ingrained in us that dealing with tragedy is not a good
thing…"
The athletes are not the only ones in shock and grieving. Students
on campus are not taking the news well either.
"It’s sad that something this tragic had to happen,"
said Sherell McCray, a junior electrical engineering major from
Baton Rouge. "Especially here at Southern. We all are family
here, and we have just lost another member."
This is the second violent death of a Southern University athlete
in four years. During Southern’s 1999 Homecoming, Robert
Stillman Jr., a member of the golf team, was shot to death in
his dorm room. Another Southern student, Derrick Claville, was
convicted of killing him and was sentenced to life in prison
in April of last year.
"We just can’t go on killing each other," said
M.R. Harris, a graduate student from Memphis. "These are
our family, our brothers, and regardless if they are athletes
or not, seeing them die is just not right.’
