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Praise not enough Senator nominates UConn's Taurasi for state heroinePosted: Wednesday April 09, 2003 11:18 PMHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut basketball star Diana Taurasi would be the state's co-heroine, joining Prudence Crandall, under legislation proposed by state Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, D-Meriden. Taurasi and the Huskies won their second consecutive NCAA women's basketball championship Tuesday, their third title in four years. Gaffey filed the legislation before the game on Tuesday, having no doubt that UConn would beat archrival Tennessee in Atlanta, the Record-Journal of Meriden reported. "I had all the confidence in the world because I agree with Geno: We have got Diana and they don't," he said, referring to UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. Gaffey said his office had not had notified Taurasi or UConn's athletic department of the proposed honor. The state's official heroine, Prudence Crandall, stood up against racial prejudice in 1833 by opening the first academy for black women in New England in Canterbury. She was arrested, jailed and put on trial. Court cases against her were dismissed due to lack of evidence, but Crandall closed the school in late 1834 after a mob attack. The legislature in 1995 named Crandall the state heroine. A decade earlier, lawmakers named Revolutionary War patriot Nathan Hale as the state hero. Gaffey drafted an amendment to name Taurasi a co-heroine of Connecticut to a bill proposing to honor aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky. The senator said his proposal to honor Taurasi should not be taken as a slight on Crandall or Sikorsky and the contributions they made during their lives. He also said fans of other UConn stars should not take exception, either, because none of them led the Huskies to back-to-back NCAA championships. |
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