WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A growing uproar is unfolding in West Palm Beach as residents rally to keep a longtime tennis director from being pushed out of the job he\u2019s held for nearly 25 years.<\/p>\n
The controversy began after the city awarded a contract to the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to manage three public tennis centers following planned renovations. For many in the community, the decision isn\u2019t just about who runs the courts\u2014it\u2019s about preserving the sense of family built under director Skip Jackson.<\/p>\n
South Olive Tennis Center, now at the heart of the debate, has long been a hub for kids, families, and seasoned players. Residents say Jackson transformed the facility into more than just a place to play\u2014it became a community.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a dynamic personality. We want him as the head professional. We don\u2019t want anybody else. We don\u2019t want USTA. We don\u2019t want another pro. We want Skip Jackson,\u201d said Micah Ford, a 17-year tennis veteran.<\/p>\n
See also: Port St. Lucie Sergeant in critical condition needs another surgery after getting shot<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Jackson, who has overseen the center for nearly a quarter-century, says the city\u2019s decision feels like a betrayal.<\/p>\n \u201cI worked seven days a week for probably 18 to 19 years to get this facility where it is now,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty frustrating. I\u2019ve built this facility for almost 25 years with this community and now they want to remove me.\u201d<\/p>\n Residents fear that bringing in an outside organization could erode the camaraderie and local connection that define the center.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fear is the camaraderie piece\u2014not knowing our community, not knowing what we want,\u201d Ford said. \u201cThis is ours. We pay property taxes here. We should decide who we want.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, Jackson filed a formal protest against USTA\u2019s bid, alleging the organization failed to disclose involvement in pending litigation. He hopes the move will prompt city officials to reconsider.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like the city to demonstrate\u2014and these politicians to demonstrate\u2014that they do listen to the people,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cThis community is outraged. They are outraged at what the city is trying to do here.\u201d<\/p>\n CBS12 reached out to both the city and USTA regarding the allegations and community concerns but has not yet received a response.<\/p>\n Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter<\/a> to get the day’s top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel<\/a> for the biggest stories and can’t miss video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A growing uproar is unfolding in West Palm Beach as residents rally…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":426121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[62,1464,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-426120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115666185459775877","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}