Ole Miss' Hugh Freeze advocates changing of state flag

HOOVER, Ala. -- Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said Thursday that he believes it is time to change the state flag of Mississippi.

"In the late '90s our university made a move to go away from the Confederate flag and being a Mississippian I have a great appreciation for the Mississippi people and the pride we have in the heritage and all those things," Freeze said at SEC Media. "Unfortunately that symbol has been hijacked by some groups that mean ill-will towards some people.

"While I'm not a political figure, I strongly believe it is time we move in a different direction and change the flag. Hopefully that'll happen."

Freeze was at least the fourth coach to be asked the question this week, joining Mississippi State's Dan Mullen.

But the questions went a step farther with Freeze when he took the podium in the main media room in Hoover, Alabama.

He was asked to elaborate on what he meant by repeatedly saying the Confederate flag had been “hijacked” and if he believed it wasn’t always a symbol tied to various hate groups.

“I’m going to have to go study some and make sure I’m speaking about knowledge… But I know the people that I grew up around… did not (use) it in ill will toward anyone,” Freeze said.

He was also asked if he thought Ole Miss’ “Rebels” nickname was appropriate.

“We could get into the name of the Rebels and everything, and if that’s something that is troublesome to others, I’m sure that we would address that,” Freeze said. “But I haven’t heard that.”

The issue has come to the forefront recently after South Carolina's legislature voted to remove the Confederate flag from the state house. It left Mississippi as the only state with the Confederate flag as part of its state flag.

It also left Mississippi as the only state banned from hosting pre-selected NCAA Championships.

The NCAA banned Mississippi and South Carolina in 2001 from hosting championship events because of the presence of the Confederate flag in each state's capitol grounds. South Carolina's ban was lifted after the flag was removed.

The Confederate flag used to be regularly found in the stands at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. It was waved by fans until the university banned it in the late 1990s.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier and Alabama’s Nick Saban also strongly voiced their opinions on the subject earlier in the week.

“I applaud our Governor for setting the initiative to remove the flag,” Spurrier said. “Obviously, all of us in college sports, we know the importance of equality, race relations, everybody getting along.”

Added Saban: “My opinion is that any time we have a symbol that represents something that is mean-spirited or doesn’t represent equal rights for all people, I’m not for having that symbol represent anything we’re involved in.”

Contact Riley Blevins at rblevins@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @Riley_Blevins on Twitter.