Ian Fitzsimmons may have some explanation to give when he gets home.
The ESPN announcer made an interesting comparison to a furious Lane Kiffin at the Texas Bowl Wednesday night.
“My wife has yelled at me sometimes and it feels like that time,” Fitzsimmons said. “That referee is me and Lane Kiffin is my wife. I mean, it’s getting ugly right now courtside at Ole Miss. I don’t know why Lane Kiffin is upset, but he’s angrier than a deranged hornet.
Kiffin would reveal exactly why he was upset following their 42-25 loss to Texas Tech. Kiffin accused a Red Raiders player of spitting at one of his players and possibly using a racial slur in the melee that broke out early in the fourth quarter.
The incident occurred after Ole Miss’s Dayton Wade fumbled early in the fourth quarter and Texas Tech rallied. There was a scuffle between the players and Ole Miss player Jordan Watkins was personally fouled.
Kiffin said the penalty should have gone to Texas Tech’s Dimitri Moore, who wears No. 11 for the Red Raiders, instead of Watkins, who wears No. 11 for Ole Miss.
“They’re announcing our 11, which is Jordan Watkins, who wasn’t in the fight, it was their 11 who was fighting 71 (Ole Miss lineman Jayden Williams) and everyone knew it because their own coaches were yelling after the guy, Kiffin said.
“There was a racial slur involved, that’s not the point of what we’re talking about, (it’s) the spitting part. I took our 71 to the officials, right or wrong, see him cry? He’s not crying because they spat on him, it’s because something was said.
When asked if a Texas Tech player had used a racial slur against one of their players, Kiffin said he wasn’t sure.
“I won’t, because I haven’t heard him, (I won’t say) say it happened for sure that he insulted our player,” said Kiffin. “I was told it was said in this (accident) but I didn’t hear it. So obviously that would be a huge problem.
Moore and Williams are both black.
Kiffin said he got so angry during the match because he didn’t think it was fair for his player to get a penalty which he clearly said should have been given to someone else.
“I will defend our players when a child spits on them and is accused in front of a national audience that is them,” said Kiffin. “So Jordan has to deal with it.”
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire was not questioned about the incident, but Kiffin said she told him about the spitting after the game.
“If you really look over there, one of them is laughing because he got off,” said Kiffin. “He’s yelling at the player, they’re losing their minds over him… I spoke to their head coach afterward, he was like, ‘Crazy refereeing over there.’ I say: “Yes, it was really bad for what your boy spat and our boy got the penalty.” He was like, ‘Yes I know.’ “
