I want to thank every one who supported me in my quest for credentials for the State Hockey tournament after being credentialed for 30 years.
Thank You for sharing my letter that I email to the Minnesota State High School League Tim Lrighton and Erich Martens.
Thank you for making comments.
I did not get approved for the tournament
I did not get any response from the Minnesota State High school League and Tim Leighton ( Communication Director ) and ( Erich Martens Executive Director )
It seems there Mission Statement and Beliefs they have for student athletes is different for them
The MSHSL won’t tell me why I’m not approved
I went to the tournment as a fan because I could not bring a computer and do the work I was suppose to do..
I talked tomany Hockey coaches, former players hockey people and fans who were in disbelief and on my side. ( Over 200 )
I want to thank everyone for your support again and on to the Juniors, College and Pro’s which I am credentialed
Here is Jerry Demeo ( a strong supporter of what I do ) email to the Minnesota State High School League, PLEASE READ:
Gerald DeMeo
Mar 7, 2022, 6:34 AM (8 days ago)
to emartens, me
Good morning Director Martens...
By way of introduction, I'm a life-long resident of Duluth, MN. Since 1993, I have been affiliated as a volunteer director with youth and high school hockey at the rink, city, state and national levels.
I've never played the sport but was proud to have my only grandson play through high school, including as a participant in three state high school tournaments. Not having the ability to serve on the ice, I limited my activities to administrative duties. In addition, I was actively involved in the development of the Duluth Heritage Sports Center (now The Essentia Duluth Heritage Center) and served as it's prescient & CEO until I retired in 2019
Having no experience in coaching or officiating I always kept my opinions to myself, choosing to be supportive of those who performed those duties; but, as an administrator, I'm struggling to understand your decision to refuse to provide 2022 media credentials to Jerry Borough after having granted that privilege since 1991.
In my opinion, when it comes to high school hockey, Jerry is the most knowledgeable person in our community. He travels our state extensively during the season to watch high school hockey and shares his opinions during a 30 minute weekly TV show aired on local PACT and streamed on YouTube. In addition, he airs interviews with local coaches and players from both boys & girls teams and is locally recognized as a person who reports what he actually sees on the ice, rather than relying on statistics.
In addition to youth & high school hockey, Jerry, with his NCAA media credentials, also sees all of the home games for our local universities, providing social media updates while the games are in process. He's become a resource for D-3 coaches who don't have the time nor the budget to view all of the Minnesota hockey talent in action.
He also holds NHL media credentials, following the Minnesota Wild in person or on the NFL network, again using social media to post updates during the game.
To the best of my knowledge, Jerry receives no remuneration in any form for the services he performs, other than the standard fare offered to all media who attend an event. He's a Spartan liver and pays his own travel expenses. He does what, not for compensation but because he loves it.
I suspect that, in the grand scheme, the 2022 Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament will be the huge success it always has been, whether or not Jerry Borough is granted credentials but I can assert most definitely that those of us in Duluth will know he's missing. The traditional media (TV, radio, newspaper) will provide us with the "30,000 ft. view", instead of the more personal approach that Jerry will take and I'm confident there will be folks who wonder why.
As stated previously, Jerry has received MSHSL media credentials every year since 1991. Is there truly a compelling reason why he can't get them for 2022?
Thanks for taking the time to reconsider your decision!
Best Regards
Jerry DeMeo
