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SEC Media Days 2015: Hugh Freeze wants changes made to state flag of Mississippi

By Patrick Schmidt

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Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze had his turn at SEC Media Days on Thursday and told the assembled media he thinks it is time to change the state flag of Mississippi and remove the Confederate Flag symbol.

SEC Media Days morphed into a political discussion this year with the recent news from South Carolina where the state legislature voted to remove the Confederate Flag from the state house. South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier applauded the move as did Alabama’s Nick Saban.

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Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen was also asked about the flag that has the Confederate Flag as part of the state flag and did his best to sidestep the question, but Freeze addressed the topic head on and wants it to be changed.

“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, via The Clarion-Ledger. “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.”

It isn’t often sports figures enter into the fray of politics, but thankfully, Freeze expressed his opinion in a clear and concise manner. Surely, it will upset some Rebel fans who wear the Confederate Flag as a symbol of pride, but as Freeze said the university made a move to distance themselves from the flag and the Col. Reb mascot, so it only makes sense his comments today are consistent with that line of thinking.

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