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‘It Wasn’t Calculated’: Lane Kiffin Defends Comments On Mississippi While Acting Shocked By Blowback

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iStockphoto / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images


 

Lane Kiffin continued to fuel his beef with former employer Ole Miss this offseason in Baton Rouge. The LSU coach ignited a firestorm on social media with comments made in a recent Vanity Fair interview.

Those remarks referenced recruiting difficulties experienced in Mississippi as a result of the program’s “struggle to distance itself from symbols like the Confederate flag, Colonel Rebel, and the nickname ‘Ole Miss.'”

The claims of racism negatively impacting his ability to secure out of state talent immediately struck a nerve with fans in Oxford. Kiffin’s since attempted to clarify after receiving backlash.

What did Lane Kiffin say about Ole Miss?

Kiffin was asked about his move from Ole Miss to LSU. The question was posed to gain insight on the rival programs’ ceilings, brands, and ability to invest monetarily in their rosters.

The reporter was not fishing for a political response. He got one anyway.

Kiffin took the opportunity to speak on the state’s supposed perception to outsiders. He claimed that players who didn’t live in Mississippi had reservations about moving to Oxford.

“‘Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi,’” Kiffin recalled of alleged recruiting conversations had at Ole Miss.

He then compared the area to his current locale positioned just 5 hours south.

“That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus’s diversity feels so great: ‘It feels like there’s no segregation.’”

The quote sparked an immediate response from the college football world. It also came off as intentionally obtuse.

ESPN’s Ryan McGee warned Kiffin to tread lightly in his comparison of the two nearby universities. They are likely more similar than they are different.

“He needs to be really careful with these things,” McGee said. “(He’s) acting like he’s moved from Mississippi to Berkley, CA, not Baton Rouge.”

Case in point:

A number of national media members came out in criticism of Lane Kiffin. He overstepped. He simply refuses to take the high road after bailing on the Rebels. This might’ve been his most controversial take yet.

Tim Brando was one notable personality demanding an apology. He wrote the following message on social media after reading the remarks.

This has ZERO defense and absolutely demands a public apology from him and the sooner the better. A leader of men has to know his words matter.

–@TimBrando / X

Kiffin would oblige though he continued to defend his comments.

The coach clarified in an apology.

“I really apologize if anybody at Ole Miss or in Mississippi was offended by that,” he said. “I was asked a lot of questions on a lot of things… I was asked about the differences in recruiting, and I said a narrative we battled there from some out of state Black parents and grandparents was not wanting their kid to move to Mississippi.

“That’s a narrative coaches have been fighting forever. It wasn’t calculated by me bringing it up.”

That seems misleading given the writer’s admission to asking a baseline question about the outlook of each program. Lane Kiffin went out of his way to bring up race.

Furthermore, he acts surprised at the negative reaction, as if the insinuation of racism wasn’t offensive enough.

The coach had the following to say about the Oxford community just one year ago:

His tone has changed with the move to LSU. Intentional or not, he’s now shaded the community that welcomed and supported him through trials and tribulations.

He’s also spotlighted a recruiting obstacle for Ole Miss on a national stage. It’s shed a negative light on Oxford. It seems inevitable that families of future prospects will have questions.

That weariness may just give LSU a recruiting edge over an SEC rival, which seems… calculated.

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