Lane Kiffin makes strong claims against Texas Tech player during bowl game scrum
from Victor Barbosa, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Ole Miss lost 42-25 against Texas Tech in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on Wednesday, but that’s not what Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin was most upset about.
According to an Associated Press and ESPN report, Kiffin claims that Dimitri Moore of the Red Raiders spit on one of his players and possibly used a racial slur. According to Kiffin, Moore played dirty during a fight for a loose ball after a fumble by the Rebels’ Dayton Wade early in the fourth quarter.
Ole Miss wide receiver Jordan Watkins (No. 11) was given a personal foul penalty in result of the scrum. Kiffin says it should’ve gone to Moore though, who wears No. 11 for Texas Tech.
“They announce our 11, which is Jordan Watkins, who wasn’t in the fight. It was their 11 that was fighting 71 (Ole Miss lineman Jayden Williams), and everybody knew because their own coaches were yelling at the guy,” the former Oakland Raiders head coach said. “There was a racial slur involved, that’s not the point of what we’re talking about, (it’s) about the spitting part. I brought our own 71 up to the officials, right or wrong, you see him crying? He’s not crying not because he got spit on, it’s because something was said.”
Kiffin then said he didn’t hear the racial slur himself, so wasn’t sure if it was said. Both Moore and Jayden Williams are Black.
The 47-year-old coach said he talked with Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire after the game. According to Kiffin, McGuire said, “Crazy officiating out there” during the exchange, to which the Ole Miss leader replied “Yeah, that was really bad on that one that your guy spit and our guy got the penalty.”
Kiffin said that McGuire agreed with him by saying, “Yeah, I know.”