SEC Commissioner issues statement on Tennessee vs. Ole Miss ending

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•10/17/21•

Jonathan Wagner

In Saturday night’s game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Ole Miss Rebels, fans did what nobody likes to see by throwing trash and other objects, including a golf ball, towards the field. After Tennessee failed to convert a fourth-and-24 late in the game, fans in Neyland Stadium reacted poorly.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was struck with a golf ball during the chaos. Kiffin later caught a water bottle before launching his visor into the stands on his way out of the stadium.

Following the chaotic event, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey issued a statement. The statement was texted to Yahoo! Sports’ Pete Thamel.

“The conference has established expectations for behavior and sportsmanship, and the actions of fans at Saturday night’s game were unacceptable under any circumstances,” Sankey said. “We are accustomed to intense competition every week, but under no circumstances is it acceptable to endanger the contest participants and disrupt a game.

“We will review existing Conference policies and the Commissioner’s authority to impose penalties and communicate with the leadership at the University of Tennessee – and all of the SEC’s member universities – to make certain this situation is not repeated.”

Tennessee fell short in the game vs. Ole Miss

The Ole Miss sidelined was temporarily vacated during the chaos. There was a 20-minute delay in the action with just 54 seconds remaining on the clock. Once play resumed, Tennessee quickly forced an Ole Miss three and out to get the ball back. Tennessee drove down to the Ole Miss 21-yard line before stalling out.

The win propels Ole Miss to 5-1 and 2-1 in SEC play while Tennessee falls to 4-3 and 2-2.

After the game, Kiffin spoke about the incident, saying he told his team to get ready to play.

“They were just throwing stuff and I said, ‘Put your helmet on and let’s play,'” Kiffin said. “It is what it is. There are 100,000 people that came out and they’re passionate. It didn’t go the way they wanted.”