Ole Miss urging SEC to punish Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian over viral comments

Pete Golding stepped in as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels after Lane Kiffin left the program right before the start of the College Football Playoff to join the LSU Tigers. After a drawn-out process that ended with a ton of drama, Kiffin took some shots at Ole Miss about the recruiting process. Meanwhile, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian took a shot at the program as well, claiming it wasn’t difficult to get a degree from the school.

Those comments are seemingly not sitting well with the Rebels, as the program reportedly reached out to the SEC, urging the conference to punish Kiffin and Sarkisian, according to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports. At the very least, Ole Miss has been communicating with the SEC about two potential bylaws being violated.

“Ole Miss officials want to know if current SEC Bylaws 10.2.3 or 10.5.2 were violated,” reported Nakos. “Bylaw 10.2.3 states: ‘Coaches and staff are required to advocate for the positive attributes of their own university and must avoid making derogatory statements about another member institution’s program, facilities, or education opportunities.’

“Bylaw 10.5.2 states: ‘Coaches and administrators are strictly forbidden from public criticism of other member institutions, their staffs, or players.’ SEC officials, when previously asked by On3 for comment, said there was nothing to report at this point,” continued Nakos. “[Greg] Sankey will likely address the comments at spring meetings this week.”

The comments made by both head coaches are certainly controversial. Kiffin stated that during his time coaching at Ole Miss, he would have families of student athletes inform him that their son would not move to Oxford, Mississippi, due to the town’s complicated racial history. Lane Kiffin has since apologized for his comments.

Steve Sarkisian, on the other hand, compared the academic achievements at Ole Miss are incredibly easy in comparison to those at Texas. His comments came not long after Kiffin blasted the football program, as Ole Miss was hit by strays within two days.

“At Texas, we will only take 50 percent of a player’s academic credit hours,” said Sarkisian. “You may be a semester from graduating, but you’re going all the way back to 50 percent if you play here and want a degree. But at Ole Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree.”

The SEC will likely continue monitoring the situation before making an official announcement.

The post Ole Miss urging SEC to punish Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian over viral comments appeared first on ClutchPoints.