June Jones gives us hope and confidence

It’s a measure of the man’s impact on the community that the entire state came to a horrified standstill yesterday when word came that UH football coach June Jones had been critically injured in a car accident.

Jones has come to represent more than a popular and successful sports program at the university. In sometimes subtle and sometimes direct ways, Jones has become a symbol of Hawai‘i’s efforts to shake off its malaise: a lack of direction and fatigue that came with years of economic weakness.

Eternally positive and almost immediately a winner at UH, Jones represented the idea that Hawai‘i can compete and succeed at the very highest levels.

Communities often latch on to sports teams or sports figures for their psychological well-being. But in Jones’ case, this went a bit further.

A former pro quarterback and NFL coach, Jones decided to return to Hawai‘i where he had played in the early 1970s. That move represented a positive symbol of love for the Islands and strong signal of belief in our potential.

June Jones believed in us. It is now up to the community to believe in him and his strength and will to achieve a swift and complete recovery from this terrible accident. Our thoughts are with him today.

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