Florida Senate - 2012 (NP) SR 2110
By Senator Joyner
18-00335A-12 20122110__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing the extraordinary life of Lee
3 Roy Selmon, Sr.
4
5 WHEREAS, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., the youngest of nine children
6 born to Lucious and Jessie Selmon in Eufaula, Oklahoma, was a
7 devoted husband of 34 years to his wife, Claybra Selmon, a
8 loving and proud father to his children, Brandy, Lee Roy, Jr.,
9 and Christopher, and a loving brother to eight siblings, and
10 WHEREAS, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., was a legendary athlete who
11 began his distinguished football career at Eufaula High School,
12 where he was named a high school All-American in 1971, and
13 WHEREAS Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., led the University of Oklahoma
14 to the college national championship in 1975, where he earned
15 the prestigious Outland and Lombardi trophies and was named
16 College Football All-American in 1974 and 1975, and
17 WHEREAS, as the Number 1 pick and first player selected by
18 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the National Football League’s
19 draft, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., played defensive end with the
20 Buccaneers from 1976-1984, earning honors in the NFL All-Pro in
21 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1984 and played in the Pro Bowl in
22 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1984, and
23 WHEREAS, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., earned athletic accolades,
24 including induction into the National College Football
25 Foundation’s College Hall of Fame in 1988, the Florida Sports
26 Hall of Fame in 1989, the Buccaneers’ Krewe of Honor in 1991,
27 and the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, and was the first
28 player from the Buccaneers voted into the Pro Football Hall of
29 Fame in 1995, and the Buccaneers’ Ring of Honor in 2009, and
30 WHEREAS, after an illustrious professional football career,
31 Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., served as the athletic director for the
32 University of South Florida, and, most recently, as president of
33 the University of South Florida Foundation Partnership for
34 Athletics, and
35 WHEREAS, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., established Lee Roy Selmon’s
36 restaurant in Tampa, which has expanded with locations along
37 Florida’s west coast from Tampa to Fort Myers, and
38 WHEREAS, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., was dearly loved and
39 respected in the Tampa Bay area for his contributions to the
40 community, which were recognized with the naming of the Lee Roy
41 Selmon, Sr., Expressway in his honor, as well as his reputation
42 as a person committed to caring and sharing, and
43 WHEREAS, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., was described as a “standard
44 bearer” and “class act” for his unwavering professional demeanor
45 both on and off the football field and as one who “set the
46 standard for kindness,” and will be remembered as a
47 quintessential role model by all who encountered him, and
48 WHEREAS, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., will long be remembered with
49 great love and respect for the way he touched the hearts and
50 lives of many through his leadership and public service in
51 community activities and his legacy as a legendary football
52 player, and
53 WHEREAS, Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., came to the great state of
54 Florida in 1976 to play professional football and adopted the
55 state as his home and, in turn, the State of Florida embraced
56 him as a “favorite son,” and
57 WHEREAS, it pleased God to take our esteemed friend, Lee
58 Roy Selmon, Sr., to his heavenly home on September 4, 2011, NOW,
59 THEREFORE,
60
61 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
62
63 That the members of the Senate recognize the extraordinary
64 life of Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., and extend our condolences to his
65 family and dearest friends.