In a landmark response to a politically loaded question at a football press conference, Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze tackled the issue of a racist symbol being included in the Mississippi state flag head on, by saying, "Yeah, I grew up here, and I never really thought about it before, but, ya know, that's prolly kinda bad y'all"
This revelation comes on the heels of Mississippi State's head football coach sidestepping a similar question two days prior with the response, "Mississippi State voted to replace the flag 14 years ago, and I support that stance." He further waffled by adding, "I'm not even from here, but I know that the state flag hasn't been supported by the university since several years before I took the job as Mississippi State head coach." and, "I know that MSU has the most racially diverse campus in the SEC and has a long history of progressive stance on race dating back to the 1960's."
The battle over the state flag has grown recently over the concern that Mississippi might not be able to host an NCAA football championship due to the NCAA's strict regulation that no scheduled championships be held in states which fly a confederate flag of any sort. Possible locations for the College Football Playoff in Mississippi include Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium and the former home of minor league baseball's Jackson Senators in Jackson as well as the Silver Star Casino and Resort in Philadelphia, MS.
One has to wonder Mullen's true motives for not leaving for much greener pastures such as the University of Florida, Michigan, and Penn State now that his true feelings for one of the South's most racist symbols have come to light:
"Guys, seriously, we've been past the flag for 14 years. FOURTEEN YEARS. Why are you even asking me this?"