President James Ammons is now a proud member of the Florida A&M sports Hall of Fame. His lengthy list of credentials, which placed him among the all-time great athletes of this university, include… well, nothing.
As always, I have to put in my disclaimer on the topic prior to people moving forward. I am not opposed to Ammons receiving recognition for his contributions to the university. If there was a hall for presidents, he would be a first ballot hall member. Hall for alumni? Sure thing. But as for having a bronze statue of his face next to the likes of Andre “The Hawk” Dawson, Althea Gibson or Clemon “CJ” Johnson, I laugh at the notion. I mean seriously, which one of these is not like the other?
Like all other members, Ammons had to put in his application and get voted in. Like all other members, he had the opportunity to wear the green jacket, which all new inductees receive. And, like other members, he will likely have a plaque placed on the wall of legendary Rattler athletes.
But, unlike any member of his class, he has never participated in two-a-days, turned a double play, anchored a 4X1 relay team, or even strapped on a pair of cleats for a game.
After a careful analysis of the situation, I still have no answer for my number one question: Why in the blue blazes is he in the SPORTS hall of fame?
While looking through the program book from the ceremony, it listed Ammons as a supporter of athletics from 2007-present. For some reason, I don’t find four years of serving as the university’s president to be adequate qualifications for induction.
Next time the committee decides to place random people into its most prestigious establishment of alumni, at least consider real athletes first.