Bjork, Freeze happy with flag being lowered on campus

OXFORD — Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork and football coach Hugh Freeze supported interim chancellor Morris Stocks’ decision to lower the state flag on campus Monday.

Bjork is a member of Stocks’ approximately 10-member leadership team that met for three hours Sunday and was in unanimous agreement about taking down the flag. The student and faculty senates voted last week by wide margins to do the same.

“I’m just proud our university can take a stand like this,” Bjork said. “It’s the right thing to do. It helps us move forward. I’m glad that we’re in this position to take this position.”

Freeze said at the Southeastern Conference football media days in July that the Confederate battle emblem on the flag should be removed.

He reiterated his support by signing a letter that appeared in The Clarion-Ledger and was also signed by Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen and former Rebels quarterback Archie Manning.

“It’s the right thing for this university and hopefully our state also will follow suit,” Freeze said. “This state is so hospitable. While it means a lot of positive things to a lot of people, it also brings up some hurt feelings for some, too. I just think it’s time we all move forward together.

“I talked with Morris Stocks (Monday) morning and just hearing how the process went, that was, I think, a very positive thing how everybody at our university handled it.”

Rebels senior linebacker C.J. Johnson also voiced his support for the flag being taken down.

“I thought it was great to show that our university is moving in a positive direction,” he said. “Not only for our university but to kind of set a national stage as to what our university is about.”

Bjork said Ole Miss hasn’t flown the Mississippi state flag at any athletic facility at least since he began in March 2012 but wasn’t sure when the flags were removed before then.

Contact Daniel Paulling at dpaulling@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @DanielPaulling on Twitter.