Lane Kiffin defends Tennessee fanbase for throwing trash, delaying game

Lane Kiffin defended the Tennessee fanbase after a group of fans decided to throw objects onto the field in the final minute of Tennessee’s 31-26 loss against Ole Miss. Ole Miss coaches and players dodged debris as they moved from the sideline to the field, delaying the game 20 minutes.

“You know, there was no prep for that,” Kiffin told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum on Friday. “I don’t know if that’d happened before. It’s kind of the Roman Coliseum movie where everyone turns on you. And Matt (Corral) joked, he said ‘I feel like I am in Gladiator when they do the thumbs down.’ As you know, passionate fans there. I kind of had a God moment, when all that was going on, walking off the field they’re throwing stuff, yelling all this stuff. Show love back. Spoil them with kindness, whatever it is. They’re just passionate and it was a rare situation. That was a small percentage of Tennessee fans, so by know means was that everybody in the stadium at all. They’re awesome, passionate fans. And that place was rocking from the beginning, from warmups.”

On Saturday the Volunteers were facing fourth-and-24 late in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Hendon Hooker completed a pass to Jacob Warren close to the first-down mark. The referees’ mark spotted Warren less than a yard short of the first down, and in protest of the call, chaos ensued from Tennessee fans.

Trash was thrown onto the field, primarily from the student section, some of which was aimed at the Ole Miss sideline. Lane Kiffin, making his return to Neyland Stadium, was hit with a golf ball in the chaos.

As a result, the University of Tennessee Police Department arrested 18 fans, while ejecting 47 more from Saturday’s game. The SEC fined the University $250,000 and Tennessee must also update its game management procedures and alcohol availability policies to prevent similar events from taking place, and those policies must be agreed upon by the SEC.

Lane Kiffin is familiar with the passion of the Tennessee fanbase. Kiffin, 46, served as the Volunteers head coach in 2009. After finishing the 2009 season 7-6, Kiffin appeared to have the Tennessee program on track for success. Then, on Jan. 12, 2010, after loss in the Chick-fil-A Bowl to Virginia Tech, Kiffin held a press conference on campus announcing he would be leaving to take the head coaching job at USC. The news stunned the student body, leading to one of the more infamous moments in Tennessee history. Hundreds of students rioted on campus at the news of Kiffin’s departure. Knoxville police and fire department were brought in after students blocked the exit from the Neyland Thompson Sports Center and started several small fires