Lane Kiffin Draws Social Media Backlash for Segregation Remark on Ole Miss Recruiting

LSU football coach Lane Kiffin is facing heavy criticism on social media after comments linking perceptions of segregation in Oxford, Mississippi, to recruiting challenges at his former school, Ole Miss.

Kiffin made the remarks in a Vanity Fair profile about his move from Oxford to Baton Rouge. He said 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, he added. 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 said, "I just hope [his comment] comes across respectful to Ole Miss…. There are some things that I’m saying that are factual, they’re not shots."

Social media users quickly condemned the remarks. The online backlash was swift and predictable, with many calling the comments absurd.

The writer noted limited time spent in Oxford but praised locals as incredible, salt-of-the-earth people. The matter may play out on the field when LSU visits Oxford on Sept. 19.