LSU’s Lane Kiffin Apologizes After Suggesting Black Families Didn't Want Their Kids Going To Ole Miss

Topline LSU football coach Lane Kiffin, who previously led the Ole Miss football program, apologized Tuesday for comments he made this week to Vanity Fair in which he suggested he had difficulty recruiting Black players to the University of Mississippi since it lacks the “diversity” of LSU, which prompted social media backlash. Kiffin's interview with Variety was published Monday. Photo by Gus Stark/LSU/University Images via Getty Images Key Facts Kiffin, who coached at Ole Miss from 2020 to 2025 before joining LSU on a controversial and lucrative $91 million contract , told Vanity Fair that recruits would say their families were not okay with them moving to Oxford, Mississippi, adding, “That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

” Kiffin said parents who have lauded LSU’s “diversity” have noted “It feels like there’s no segregation. ” The comments drew widespread backlash and ridicule on social media, with some noting the LSU Tigers’ namesake is a group of Confederate soldiers, while The Atlantic writer Jemele Hill tweeted it’s “Really amusing watching LSU and Ole Miss fans argue about which school is the least racist. ” The LSU coach provided Vanity Fair with a follow-up comment after his interview, saying, “I just hope [my comment] comes across respectful to Ole Miss….

There are some things that I’m saying that are factual, they’re not shots. ” Kiffin reiterated his stance to On3 on Tuesday, saying, “I really apologize if anybody at Ole Miss or in Mississippi was offended by that,” saying the “narrative” he spoke about was one “coaches have been fighting forever” and that it was not a “calculated” decision to bring it up in his interview with Vanity Fair. What Else Did Kiffin Say In His Interview With Vanity Fair?

Kiffin also spoke about his past drinking problems and his early years as a head coach, when he became one of the youngest NFL head coaches in history with the Oakland Raiders before being fired in his second season, leading to a brief stint at the University of Tennessee before he secured his “dream job” at the University of Southern California. Kiffin spoke about how drinking impacted his work and his marriage to his ex-wife, Layla, saying his motivation as a young coach was rooted in how fast he could secure big jobs. He told Vanity Fair, “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to work on that, making decisions that are more delayed gratification…I got tired of digging out of hangovers, tired of digging out of situations or things I said.