STARKVILLE — Starkville Rotary Club welcomed Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Rush as its guest speaker on Monday, though not to speak about his day job.
In addition to his work in the courtroom, Rush serves as head coach of the Starkville Cowboys 10U youth football team, where he hopes to positively influence the next generation with life lessons and recreation.
“To show them consistency, show them that you care and that you have this level of expectation, that you’re not surprised when they meet that expectation, It gives them some hope,” he said.
The Cowboys, formerly the Starkville Raiders, are part of the Mississippi Gridiron League, a league of 14 teams including four others in the Golden Triangle area, which competes for a Super Bowl championship each season.
Rush’s 10U Cowboys team won the Super Bowl in 2024, a culmination of hard work aimed at keeping kids out of trouble in school, staying on the right track and developing into hard-working young men. Rush and his fellow coaches emphasize the importance of discipline and safety, especially with the summer Mississippi heat, and work toward a fall season playing against other local teams.
“Of course, our side is what we call the ‘SEC West’ over here,” Rush said. “Man, you’re talking about West Point, you’re talking about Nox(ubee County), some of the best athletes that you will find, but it’s not about that. It’s so much deeper than just putting players on the field and trying to get them to the next level. It’s not about that. It’s way deeper than that.”
Rush shared a story of arriving to practice after missing the day before because of a trial that ran into the evening. When he told the kids he was in court, many of them assumed he was the one in trouble, so his reveal that he was an attorney was met with some surprise. He identified a need for role models and a need to help keep kids developing as students and leaders, something he sees taking place within the Cowboys’ ranks.
“You better have good behavior at home, good behavior on your school bus, and your butt better behave in the classroom,” he said. “If not, you got to come and see Coach Rush.”
Practices begin in May at the end of the school year, starting with conditioning drills to prepare the kids for the heat and the physicality of playing the sport in Mississippi. They play their games at Starkville High, where Rush once played himself under Bill Lee when the Jackets won the state championship in 2001.
Rush earned his Bachelor of Arts in public relations from Murray State where he played football on scholarship, and then earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi. He served as a public defender in Memphis before joining the DA’s office in 2020 to work under Scott Colom.
Back in the same places he played and grew up, Rush wants to give back. He wants to avoid seeing the next generation on the other side of the courtroom, and, more than anything, he wants to show how football can turn boys into young men who can make a difference.
“I’ve got kids who just need this guidance, and it’s working,” he said in a passionate speech on the work he and his coaches do. “This next generation of kids, even though they get a bad rap … if we keep this program going, we keep hands on them and keep molding them as they grow older, I won’t see them in the courtroom. I’ll see them at Kroger and Walmart, or on the football field, and that’s the purpose of why I do what I do.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
