Jeremy Faison

Jeremy Faison
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2011
Preceded by	Eddie Yokley
Personal details
Born	(1976-09-14) September 14, 1976 (age 48) Monroe, Georgia, U.S.

Jeremy Faison is a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the Eleventh District[1] and is the Chairman of the House Republican Caucus. He represents all of Cocke County and part of Hamblen and Jefferson counties.[1]

Biography

Jeremy Faison was born on September 14, 1976, in Monroe, Georgia.[1] He was homeschooled elementary through high school grade levels and was issued a high school diploma from Victory Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Florida) in 1995, prior to his attending Clearwater College. Faison and his wife also homeschool all of their own children.[2][3]

Faison is married with five children.[4] They reside in Cosby, Tennessee.[1] He is a worship leader at Crossroads Community Church.[3][1] He plays several musical instruments.[4] Faison and his wife own a pest and wildlife control business in Newport, Tennessee.[5]^[self-published source] He is a past president of the Cocke County Republican Party and member of the Cocke County Chamber of Commerce.[1]

In 2010, he defeated Eddie Yokley to become Tennessee State Representative for the Eleventh District.[6] He has been given an "A" grade by the NRA Political Victory Fund, the NRA's political lobbying arm which supports 2nd Amendment rights.[7]

On February 1, 2019, Faison was severely injured in a car crash in Smith County, Tennessee. Faison survived and was taken to the hospital, with a broken nose and cracked ribs; he also received stitches in his head. He acknowledged that he was not wearing a safety belt at the time of the incident.[8]

On January 4, 2022, Faison attended a high school basketball match in which his son was involved in; when a confrontation between the teams occurred during the match, Faison walked onto the court, shouted at a referee, and tried to pull the referee's pants down.[9][10] The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association reported that before pulling the referee's pants, Faison told the referee: "You can't tell me to leave the floor, this was your fault".[10][11] The referee asked that police be called to respond, but no call was made.[10] Faison was made to leave the venue.[11] Later that day, Faison wrote on social media that he "acted the fool tonight and lost my temper", explaining that he wanted the referee to "fight" him; Faison also wrote that he wished to ask for "forgiveness" from the referee.[11]

In 2023, Faison supported a resolution to expel Democratic lawmakers from the legislature for violating decorum rules. The expulsion was widely characterized as unprecedented.[12]

References

1. "Representative Jeremy Faison". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
2. "Jeremy Faison - State House, 11th District". Knoxville News Sentinel. October 10, 2010. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
3. "2011 Incoming Legislators: 107th General Assembly". Office of Government Relations. University of Tennessee. 2011. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
4. "Jeremy Faison for state House, 11th District". Knoxville News Sentinel. July 15, 2012. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
5. "Biography". Jeremy Faison. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
6. Yancey, Tom (October 12, 2010). "Jeremy Faison Runs For State House Seat". The Greeneville Sun. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
7. "NRA-PVF | Tennessee". NRA Political Victory Fund. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
8. "State Rep. Jeremy Faison stable after car crash". WJHL-TV. February 2, 2019. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
9. Harvey, Josephine (January 5, 2022). "Tennessee GOP Lawmaker Loses Temper And Attempts To Pants Basketball Referee". HuffPost. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
10. Brown, Melissa; Adams, Emily (January 5, 2022). "'I was bad wrong': Top GOP lawmaker attempted to pants referee during basketball game". Nashville Tennessean. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
11. "Tennessee lawmaker apologizes after outburst at high school basketball game, apparent try to 'pants' referee". NBC News. Associated Press. January 7, 2022. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
12. Andone, Dakin; Young, Ryan; Simonson, Amy; Almasy, Steve (April 7, 2023). "Tennessee's Republican-led House expels 2 Democratic lawmakers over gun reform protest, fails in bid to oust a third". CNN. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.