The 901: Memphis Tigers 'party bus' debate obscures bigger, more troubling issues

Good Tuesday morning from Memphis, where Shelby County Schools is stepping up to offer utility assistance to its families and the Grizzlies' Ja Morant is now the Tennessee Titans' patron saint. But before we get to those stories ...

As he scrambles to contain a COVID-19 outbreak — and speculation about how it happened — Memphis Tigers football coach Ryan Silverfield yesterday disputed our report that players got on a "party bus" after winning their season opener on Sept. 5.

"We believe that there was no party bus," he said in a nearly 3-minutes long statement, seeming to contradict three independent sources who spoke to The Commercial Appeal.

However, Silverfield left open the question of whether he was disputing the vehicle description or that a party happened on a vehicle. More on that in a sec, but first, here's the video of Silverfield's statement, which includes an awkward attempt to give some reporters a verbal spanking for (*gasp*) talking to players without the school's permission — a disgusting practice known in journalistic circles as "doing your job":

Silverfield's statement in many ways raises more questions than it answers. He said "we believe" there was no party bus — but why the qualification? Is he sure or not sure? And if this wasn't a "party bus," was it a "party van"? Also, the van only picked up two players, per Silverfield — but did other players celebrate in or around this van? Strangely and unfortunately, Silverfield didn't take questions after reading his statement.

Maybe there wasn't a party on either a bus or a van, as Silverfield clearly implies but never explicitly says. But if that's the case, it's strange the league also thinks a party on a vehicle is to blame, especially considering it's getting its information from the school:

However the outbreak happened, Silverfield seems to be trying to restore players' and fans' faith that the program can safeguard the health of its players and staff. And understandably so: the Tigers just saw its third football player opt out of the season.

But even as Silverfield tries to shore up trust in the program, the university's policy of not disclosing how many players have contracted the virus is eroding it. We've been told at least 20 have the virus, and that another 20 are isolating after coming into contact with them. Meanwhile, the university has been mum, continuing a longstanding tradition of suppressing information by taking an over-the-top interpretation of student privacy laws.

Maybe Silverfield is right and there was no party on a bus. Maybe there wasn't a party van, either. Maybe Memphis players acted safely and responsibly. Let's hope he's right. 

But the questions Silverfield isn't answering — or won't answer — aren't going away. Silverfield owes fans, players, and their families an explanation about why at least 20 of his players are sick with COVID-19 and why 20 more are in isolation on his watch.

SCS offers to help parents with utilities

With more than 18,000 Memphis Light, Gas and Water customers at risk of having their utilities cut off, Shelby County Schools yesterday announced it would help with the bills.

The school district will offer one-time grants of up to $200 to help the parents of students pay off their utility bills through the nonprofit SchoolSeed, our Laura Testino reports. See

Laura's story for more details, but here are the qualifications to receive the grants:

• Have a disconnect notice from MLGW for the current billing cycle
• Applicant is the legal guardian of a child or children currently enrolled in a SCS school
• The child or children reside with the applicant full-time
• The address on record for the student with SCS must match the address on account with MLGW
• MLGW bill must be in applicant's name

+ Speaking of schools: Shelby County Schools is trying to figure out why 3,000 students are unaccounted for since online classes began two weeks ago, per Chalkbeat.

Ja Morant's magic rubs off on Titans

The Memphis Grizzlies tweeted out a doctored photo yesterday of its star rookie, Ja Morant, in the uniform and pads of Tennessee Titans cornerback Adoree' Jackson:

Putting aside our skepticism about whether Memphis should support the Titans, maybe Morant's magic worked: The Titans narrowly won its season opener, defeating the Denver Broncos 16-14.

What else is happening in the 901

• Our Sam Hardiman has an interesting Q&A with one of the deputy directors of the Memphis Police Department about perceptions of police and police reforms.
• The public spoke for and against the removal of Collierville's Confederate marker during last night's town board meeting, our Dima Amro reports.
• Worth a read: The journalism project MLK50 just published a well-written deep dive on how a proposed pipeline from Memphis to Marshall County could affect residents of the mostly Black neighborhood of Boxtown in Memphis. As noted at the bottom of the story, starting today the Army Corps of Engineers is accepting public feedback on nationwide permits that could affect the pipeline. For my initial thoughts on the pipeline, check out this column from December.
• FedEx has a new type of delivery tracking device, one that lets you track the exact location of your package in real time, our Max Garland reports. That could come in especially handy when it comes to shipping vaccines, per FedEx.
• Our Ted Evanoff takes an even closer look at how a new type of river vessel could transform the Mississippi River shipping industry and Memphis along with it.
• The campaign to stop the execution of Pervis Payne, a man convicted of killing a woman and her 2-year-old daughter in Millington in 1987, is intensifying ahead of his Dec. 3 execution date, our Katherine Burgess reports. In addition to calls to test evidence for DNA, advocates say he may qualify as having an "intellectual disability," which would make him ineligible for execution under Tennessee law.
• The new, based-in-Memphis owner of the Babalu restaurant chain is adding several popular dishes from restaurants on Highway 30A, a stretch of road in Florida that's a popular vacation destination for many Memphians, per our Jennifer Chandler. In sadder news, Jennifer also reports that Cooper 20/20 in the Cooper-Young neighborhood is closing for good.
• The Blues Foundation has a new president and chief executive, our Bob Mehr reports.

The Fadeout: Valerie June

Fading us out, Memphian Valerie June just uploaded a new video of herself performing her "Somebody to Love," from her 2013 album "Pushin' Against a Stone," via webcam...

Like The Fadeout? Check out The 901's Spotify playlist. Want to submit a recommendation of your own? Reach me by email, address below.

Columnist Ryan Poe writes The 901, a running commentary on all things Memphis. Reach him at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.

Want to support local journalism? A Commercial Appeal subscription gives you unlimited access to stories and columns. You also get the ability to tap into news from the USA TODAY Network's 109 local sites across the country.