Lane Kiffin doubled down on his controversial halftime message in the postgame interview following his team’s overwhelming 51-10 defeat of the Clemson Tigers on Saturday.
LSU went into halftime with a dominant 31-3 lead. Kiffin seized the opportunity of his halftime interview to drop a message in response to the ongoing legal battle between LSU and the SEC.
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“Imagine if we had pro players,” Kiffin said.
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With LSU ultimately beating Clemson 51-10, a reporter asked Kiffin in the postgame press conference whether his statement was a joke. The coach was further asked what the future held for the players he alluded to.
“What’s the difference?” Kiffin asked cheekily. “Everybody hates you. They can’t hate you that much more. So there you go, you got another line.”
The drama behind Lane Kiffin’s halftime jab had consumed Baton Rouge in the week leading up to Saturday night’s opener. Kiffin and the LSU Tigers are in a legal battle with the SEC and NCAA over their attempt to add two players to their roster.
Why is Lane Kiffin and LSU locked in a legal battle with the SEC?
Tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris both left their respective NFL teams to pursue another year of college eligibility. The consequent backlash has stemmed from arguments that professional athletes should not return to college.
LSU secured an injunction from a Louisiana state judge granting the players eligibility. However, the SEC has filed a federal lawsuit in response, while also threatening severe measures against the Tigers.
With the conference’s looming threats, Kiffin opted to exclude the duo from the team that faced Clemson on Saturday. However, the distraction of the legal battle and a two-hour weather delay couldn’t deter LSU on Saturday.
The game, hyped to be a competitive matchup turned out to be Clemson’s worst loss in three decades. The win handed Lane Kiffin a talking point, as he maintained that the dominant performance saved him from a media backlash over the roster drama.
“I’m just really glad they played the way they did, so that wouldn’t have been the story,” he said. “Because I get it. Even if we won close and kind of ugly, the whole story would have been, ‘Man, I screwed the team up by, you know, doing this.'”
Meanwhile, Kiffin has stated his indifference to external opinions, as he remains focused on leading the Tigers back to the apex of college football.
Edited by Kayode Akinwumi
