Seven years ago, the University of Mississippi marching band, The Pride of the South, ended its tradition of playing “Dixie” or any variation of the song during game days.
The Confederate flags that used to flap robustly in Vaughn-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford are not tolerated either. This includes the state flag of Mississippi, which has the Confederate ‘Stars and Bars” in its design.
The school dropped “Colonel Reb” as its athletic mascot in 2003 and replaced it seven years later with the “Black Bear” mascot. Some traditions never die. The bear’s name is Rebel.
I saw Ole Miss host Arkansas on a fall Saturday night in 1990 in Jackson, Miss. “Dixie” blared throughout the contest, and I counted more than 100 of those flags in the stadium.
The most alarming part of the evening was watching Black players on Mississippi’s squad run onto the field before the game jumping and shouting while the band played “Dixie.” You talk about a surreal experience.
This was the school that would rather hold a deadly riot Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 1962, than have a Black student, James Meredith, take classes there.
Enter Lane Kiffin, Mississippi’s current football coach. It’s a generalization, but you either love Kiffin or you hate him. He can coach, recruit, and win college football games – and he can drive you crazy with his caustic personality.
This is why college football – especially the SEC and Big 12 Conference – should listen as he calls his sport out for its lack of Black head coaches.
Kiffin gave wide receivers coach Derrick Nix, who is Black, the head coaching responsibility for his team’s first fall scrimmage last Saturday.
Following the scrimmage, he lamented the fact that there are no Black coaches in the SEC or Big 12. He said this led to him giving Nix the opportunity.
“I hope coaches like Coach Nix that don’t get opportunities start getting opportunities because it’s ridiculous when we’re talking about two major conferences,” Kiffin said.
“[About] 80% of our players are minorities, but we have all white coaches. It’s a system that needs to be fixed.”
According to NCAA statistics, the Black player Division 1 college football population is about 50%, which jumps to about 64% when combining all players of color.
Kiffin being Kiffin doesn’t change the fact that he’s right.
Since its formation in 1932, the SEC has had five Black head coaches. Of the 65 Power 5 head football coaches, eight are Black. That’s 8.1%.
Kiffin’s father, Monte, was a longtime and respected NFL coach.
“I remember my dad telling me a long time ago to be very grateful for what you have because this has not been a good profession for minorities,” Kiffin said.
“He used to say all the time: ‘I’m just telling you, there’s more Tony Dungys, there’s more Lovie Smiths, there’s more Mike Tomlins that never get the opportunity.”
A similar scenario played out on Saturday in the NFL. Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel gave head coaching responsibility to assistant head coach and defensive line coach Terrell Williams for the preseason game against the Chicago Bears.
“I think it will be a great opportunity,” Grabel told reporters after he announced his decision.
“It is well deserved. It’s something that I wanted to do.”
Hopefully many coaches, and administrators, are paying attention.
“The only way to overcome it is to have guys like Lane Kiffin to give opportunities,” Nix told reporters following the scrimmage.
The Reid Roundup
I was looking forward to shortstop Masyn Wynn, a potential future Black star for the St. Louis Cardinals, being called up from Triple A Memphis. That might have to wait until next season. Wynn suffered a “mild glute strain” last week and has not played since. There’s no rush. Let him heal…I also can’t wait to see Cincinnati’s phenom shortstop Elly De La Cruz in person, but it must wait until one of the final three games of the season at Busch Stadium, Sept. 29-Oct. 1…Someone please tell James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers to shut up…When asked about Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl wins, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes calmly replied, “I’ll strive to get as close as I can.”…Dusty Baker’s 2,161 managerial wins (as of August 14) put him in seventh place all time. If he returns next season to guide the Houston Astors, he could easily surpass the late Sparky Anderson (2,194.)
