Paul Finebaum said it was “terribly unfair” for ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith to make the debate surrounding Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s future “racial” by insinuating that black players don’t want to go to Oxford, Miss. Smith took that stance on Wednesday’s episode of “First Take” during a discussion with Finebaum, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and host Shae Cornette about whether Kiffin should take one of the coaching vacancies in the SEC, Florida or LSU. “Let’s get this out of the way. Now listen ladies and gentlemen, I’m gonna say it. Y’all can’t say it. Don’t you dare say it, Paul. Don’t you dare say it, Doggie. Don’t you say it, Shae. Leave it to me. I’ll say it. The brothers ain’t trying to come to Oxford, Miss. for the most part, compared to Gainesville or Baton Rouge, La. Let’s just call it what it is, OK?” Smith began. “You look at the job that Lane Kiffin has done at Ole Miss, it’s phenomenal. The man has won 74 percent of his games over the last six years. Ole Miss, they’re in the picture. They can win a national championship. Lane Kiffin, his personality, his cachet, it ain’t Nick Saban he’s got to worry about. He’s got the potential to be another Nick Saban, but it ain’t gonna happen at Ole Miss. Not for years down the road to come. No, no, no, no, no, no. But Gainesville, at the University of Florida? But Baton Rouge, Death Valley, LSU? That’s a different animal. “I’m not saying that you don’t have black players and stuff like that on the team. Of course you do. But I’m just talking about from a recruiting standpoint, in terms of longevity, establishing a sustained level of success for many, many years to come when you’re going up against Alabama, when you’re going up against Georgia, when you’re going up against teams like that. Ole Miss? I don’t have that kind of faith that a sustained level of excellence that’s comparable to what those two programs have done [is possible].” Ole Miss is currently 10-1 and sitting at No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings in Kiffin’s sixth season at the helm. On his eponymous show later Wednesday, Finebaum called Smith’s comments “wrong.” “I realize a lot of you did not see what Stephen A. said, but he clearly made it racial,” Finebaum said. “He clearly said, in his words, ‘the brothers do not want to go to Oxford, Miss.,’ which has been proven to be completely incorrect. “I’ve been to Oxford a million times and I think it’s terribly unfair to bring up echoes of yesteryear, the ’60s, and try to portray Oxford as that type of place today. It’s not. The south has changed. You can make your own interpretation, but to dump on Oxford while saying that Gainesville and Baton Rouge would be utopia was just baffling to me.” LSU fired Brian Kelly and Florida axed Billy Napier last month. Kiffin has been linked to both jobs. Earlier this week, multiple reports said LSU flew members of Kiffin’s family in to tour Baton Rouge, including his ex-wife Layla, with whom Kiffin has reportedly reconciled after their 2016 divorce. The couple shares three children. Smith guaranteed by January that Kiffin will be at either LSU or Florida. “You can book it, because he ain’t stupid,” Smith said.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/20/sports/paul-finebaum-calls-out-stephen-a-smith-for-making-lane-kiffin-debate-racial/
Paul Finebaum calls out Stephen A. Smith for making Lane Kiffin debate ‘racial’
