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During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Lane Kiffin revealed some issues he ran into while recruiting players when he was previously at Ole Miss.

According to Kiffin, some of the recruits he was pursuing said their families didn't want them to move to Oxford:
quote:

Kiffin also seems willing to indirectly invoke Ole Miss's struggle to distance itself from symbols like the Confederate flag, Colonel Rebel, and the nickname "Ole Miss" itself. When he was coaching there, Kiffin says, top recruits would tell him, “‘Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.’ 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. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.’” (The next day Kiffin added, “I just hope [my comment] comes across respectful to Ole Miss…. There are some things that I’m saying that are factual, they’re not shots.” The population of Baton Rouge is about 51% Black and 36% white; Oxford is about 66% white, 26% Black. )
The comments from Kiffin will surely add more fuel to the fire for the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry.

September 19 in Oxford can’t get here soon enough.

Filed Under: LSU Football
25 Comments
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CatfishJohn3 hours
To be fair, he's not saying Ole Miss or the people in Oxford are racist. It's just a perception that older black people have because of the history, etc. Shouldn't be controversial, but of course people will have a come apart.
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crewdepoo34 min
He kinda is. They've had 150 years to ditch those traditions and names
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There are laws on top of laws to protect individuals from racism. The racism that exist today is in the individuals heart and the legacy media....HARD STOP!
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Orndorf23 hours
He's right. I have friends that were recruited to D1 football. The history of Oxford doesn't make black americans feel warm and fuzzy. Especially when the confederate symbols of oppression are still present. Duh.
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DeafVallyBatnR3 hours
I hate Ole Miss and i have been saying for years. "How do black families allow there children to attend that University". I get why part of my close Mississippi family are Ole Miss fans. But they aren't changing the past and I dont blame them. But I also see it from the people who came from grand or great grandparents of slavery.

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BeepBopBoop2 hours
I’ve said same. Schools should be using the past to negative recruit Ole Miss.
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Tiger2tiga1 hour
Same can be said for LSU. Louisiana’s history isn’t clean. And still today many racists are attacking black Americans. U have 4 majority white districts but 2 majority black districts is a problem.
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GEAUX439 min
Why is that a problem
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Spelt it rong2 hours
Lived in Oxford. Loved it. Will retire there.
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CjNola7543 min
Good for you!
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chadr0737 min
Awesome. Maybe you can go ask Pete Golding to sign his autograph on your arse cheek while you are there.
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sharkfhin3 hours
Reb Fandom on X have melted again over this article.
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JackaReaux3 hours
Don’t let them read the OT
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jasonbr19753 hours
Money is green, not blue and red! That's mostly what all college players care about anyways.
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Tiger2tiga1 hour
That can get money from any school.
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KCT2 min
I like Lane, but this was stupid on his part. They're going to need the Secret Service to get out of Oxford alive if he keeps fanning the flames. Be the bigger man and let it go, Lane.
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Timeoday11 min
It is not the Confederate Flag. How moronic are people? It is the Flag of Rebellion. The rebel flag is flown daily at my house and it has nothing at all to do with a race and everything to do with government suppression of liberty under the guise of protection.
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Yeti_Chaser2 hours
Maybe I should've gone to OM
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Tiger2tiga1 hour
Maybe so. We don’t need more racists in Louisiana
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chadr0736 min
You know, the people that keep hollering racist may need to look in the mirror and realize that they are the real racist here.
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Look, I am an LSU fan all day, but the people of Mississippi are no more racist than anywhere else, including northern states. Ole Miss fans have gotten a bad reputation well beyond reason. Perhaps Lane Kiffin ran into the racial issues, but those accusations are tired. Now, if the parents of players are asking about crime rates-then STAY AWAY from Baton Rouge and run to Oxford! That's the facts.
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lsualum9620 min
"..........but the people of Mississippi are no more racist than anywhere else........"

You can't be serious. LOL!
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Timeoday8 min
If everyone black, white, asian or hispanic, is racist how is it not considered normal behavior?
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Csmims1 hour
Now compare crime rates
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