Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 10-9-18

Local ‘Brotherhood’ Remembers Lee Roy Selmon As Restaurant Comes Down, Followed By His Memoriam
(By Gwen Hayes, Sentinel Editor, as told by Tyrone Keys)
A group of young men, who were there when the ground was broken for the first Lee Roy Selmon’s Restaurant in Tampa, not far from (at the time) Tampa Stadium, where Selmon played for the NFL, were there to see bulldozers bring down the last bricks.
As told to the Sentinel by former Selmon team- mate, Tyrone Keys, the Brotherhood remembered Lee Roy Selmon during the week of Sept. 4-10, 2018.
Members of the group were there to see the restau- rant on Boy Scout Blvd., demolished on August 25, 2018, to make room for upcoming development.
The restaurant’s closure moves the chain closer to being completely phased out, a desire of the Selmon family.
“On behalf of the entire Selmon family, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Tampa Bay community for all of the amazing love and support they have shown the Lee Roy Selmon’s restaurant over the past 17 years,” Claybra Selmon said in a statement released by MVP Holdings.
“The restaurants were indeed a dream that Lee Roy was able to see come to fruition and enjoy for many years before his death. We are so very grateful for the partnership we’ve shared with MVP and for each and every person who has ever been employed by Selmon’s and had a hand in its success. Lee Roy’s spirit will live on in this great city forever.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Bob Basham, one of the Outback Steakhouse Inc., (OSI), co-founders and a partner in Selmon’s, then and now. “It obviously brings back a lot of fond memories of Lee Roy and the time he spent in there at all the tastings. It is the end of the era.”
Lee Roy Selmon (October 20, 1954 – September 4, 2011) was an American football player and college Athletics Director. He played college football as a de- fensive tackle at the University of Oklahoma, the youngest of three Selmon brothers to play football there.
He was an All-American in 1974 and 1975 and a member of consecutive national championship teams for the Oklahoma Sooners in 1974 and 1975.
Selmon was selected by the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the first overall pick in the 1976 NFL draft. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, from 1976 to 1984, all with the Buc- caneers. Lee Roy still holds the Tampa Bay Buccaneer sack record of 78 sacks.
Selmon joined the athletic department at the Uni- versity of South Florida in 1993 and served as the school’s Athletic Director from 2001 to 2004.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
Selmon shunned the spotlight, yet in 1999, in honor of Lee Roy - the Southern Crosstown Express- way was renamed the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Ex- pressway. There are other buildings that bear his name.
Lee Roy returned to USF after retiring due to an illness to help USF start its football program. He also created a scholarship fund to assist students on their education quest - who were committed to coming back to help the next generation.
“All Sports Community Sports (ASCS) quest and Urban Teaching Academy are so grateful to Lee Roy for his belief and faith in helping us help the next gen- eration. Thanks to the seeds Lee Roy left behind (en- dowed scholarships) for ASCS students the last 2 decades - today many have returned as teachers, youth coaches, and scholarship donors,” stated Tyrone Keys, founder of ASCS stated.
The ‘Brotherhood’ was there with Lee Roy when he was honored at the last game held at the old Raymond James Stadium. Standing with him are: Hiram Green, James Ransom, Lee Roy’s teammates, Aaron Brown and Tyrone Keys, and Keys’ children, Tyrone, Jr. and Chyla Keys.
The Selmon children Brandi and Lee Roy, Jr., with the scholarship honoree, Luis Zuniga.
The group also watched the demolition of Lee Roy Selmon’s Restaurant on August 25, 2018. The restaurant closed its doors earlier in the summer.
The brotherhood was there again as Lee Roy asked friends to assist him in bringing foot- ball to USF. Walter Payton flew down from Chicago to as- sist with the project.
Lee Roy Selmon Scholar- ship recipient, Demario Muldrow, who has returned to serving his community as an instructor at Tampa Bay Tech High School.
Among those from the ‘Brotherhood’ are: Hiram Green, Ricky Sailor, Lee Roy, Jr., Decalon Brooks, Lucious Selmon (a Selmon brother), Derrick Brooks, and Tyrone Keys. Lee Roy’s spirit lives on through his son, Lee Roy, Jr., who continues to represent the Selmon family. Lee Roy, Jr. presented the 2016 High School Player of Year Award to Gaither High School’s Decalon Brooks, son of Derrick Brooks. Decalon is in his 2nd year at FSU.
The 2018 scholarship recipient is Jorge Prado of Blake High School. He is shown with Tyrone Keys (All Sports Community Service) and Gwen Williams, Blake High Director of Urban Teaching Academy.
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