Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin has never been averse to headlines. That continued Wednesday as he took to social media to shout out President Trump and the Gulf of America.
The post went viral after it corrected a fan who neglected to call the body of water by its newly assigned name. Kiffin tagged Mr. Trump in the post.
It was viewed more than 2 million times in less than 24 hours.
Kiffin’s message drew an almost equal number of supporters and critics.
Many Ole Miss fans responded with American flag emojis and GIFs of the president. Detractors continued to refer to the water bordering Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana as the Gulf of Mexico.
“At what point do sensible Black athletes/families decide enough is enough,” sportscaster Chris Williamson wrote on X. “And make these coaches pay for aligning themselves with Trump and refuse to play with them?”
Kiffin’s message came hours after an awkward appearance on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” where the coach said he would bury a feud with the ESPN host.
The two have traded barbs since Kiffin’s time at USC.
“We’ll put it to rest here,” Kiffin said from the show’s beachfront set. “There’s the Gulf.”
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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