It was the perfect gig, a summer training and internship program designed to develop college sports journalists and promote racial and gender diversity in America’s newsrooms. Until suddenly, his phone rang.īrown listened carefully as Greg Lee, senior assistant managing editor at The Boston Globe, told him he was one of just 16 students who had been accepted into the Sports Journalism Institute. The play was reviewed on replay, and the call was upheld.īlake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network.His future was on the clock. On the fourth-down play, Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren stretched his right hand forward toward the first-down marker as his knee hit the ground, but the ball was in his left hand, which was not extended.
"I’m not sure it wasn’t partly at the refs, too, because they replayed the play, and I think they’re watching his other hand, thinking they had a first down. You get 100,000 of them together and things don’t go their way and lot of energy is going, they got upset, I don’t know. I think that’s one of the most passionate fan bases in America. "Early on, going out there, I thought it was a different reception. I think it was more students that were 8 (years old) or something when we were here before or whatever," Kiffin said. “The majority of the people were actually really good, especially early in warmups. Kiffin had returned to Neyland Stadium twice previously as Alabama's offensive coordinator, but Saturday marked his first return as an opposing head coach.Īs Kiffin exited the field flanked by security, more objects were thrown in his direction, and he caught a water bottle out of the air with one hand.īut Kiffin said the crowd's reaction probably had as much to do with fans' objections over the officiating as it did his presence. He remains one of the most polarizing figures in Tennessee. Kiffin coached Tennessee for one season in 2009 before departing in January 2010 for the same job at Southern Cal. The game marked Tennessee's first sellout since the 2017 season. Behavior that puts student-athletes, visitors and other fans at risk is not something we will tolerate," Plowman wrote. "Good sportsmanship must be part of who we are as Volunteers.
UT-Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman tweeted after the game that she was "astonished and sickened by the behavior of some Vol fans at the end of tonight’s game." We will review existing Conference policies and the Commissioner’s authority to impose penalties and communicate with the leadership at the University of Tennessee - and all of the SEC’s member universities - to make certain this situation is not repeated.” "We are accustomed to intense competition every week, but under no circumstances is it acceptable to endanger the contest participants and disrupt a game. “The Conference has established expectations for behavior and sportsmanship, and the actions of fans at Saturday night’s game were unacceptable under any circumstances," Sankey said in a statement. Tennessee's cheerleaders, spirit squad and band exited the scene and sought cover amid the chaos. Even a bottle of mustard wound up on the field.
A fan threw a golf ball at Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who pocketed it. Water bottles and beer cans were chucked onto the field. Fans littered the field with debris in protest. Tennessee fans objected to referees ruling that the Vols' fourth-down attempt late in the fourth quarter came up a yard short of a first down, resulting in a turnover on downs. 14 Ole Miss and consider imposing penalties. Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey says the league will review the "unacceptable" scene that unfolded during the closing minutes at Neyland Stadium on Saturday night amid Tennessee's 31-26 loss to No. Watch Video: Why Alabama's Nick Saban is a top bargain among college football coaches
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