Defensive tackle Fabien Lovett has become Mr. Popular since entering the transfer portal to exit Mississippi State’s program.
Lovett is leaving after head coach Mike Leach posted an image of a noose. Several players posted critical responses to the tweet.
But things have been largely positive for Lovett of late. He’s heard from Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Oregon and … Ole Miss, he told 24/7Sports.
“Man, my phone has been on fire,” Lovett said.
Lovett is from Olive Branch, Miss., and played in 11 games last season as a freshman. He told 24/7 the way his next coach interacts with players is near the top of his list of what he needs at his future football home.
On April 1, Leach tweeted a meme containing an image of a noose, and the school’s athletic director criticized Leach on Tuesday.
In his first public comments since Leach put out the tweet, AD John Cohen laid out a plan that would allow the coach to “expand his cultural awareness of Mississippi.”
Multiple members of the Bulldogs team posted negative responses to Leach’s tweet, which showed a woman knitting a noose, accompanied by the caption, “After 2 weeks of quarantine with her husband, Gertrude decided to knit him a scarf”
On April 2, Leach deleted the tweet and wrote, “I sincerely regret if my choice of images in my tweets were found offensive. I had no intention of offending anyone.”
Cohen said in a statement on Tuesday, “No matter the context, for many Americans the image of a noose is never appropriate and that’s particularly true in the South and in Mississippi. Mississippi State University was disappointed in the use of such an image in a tweet by Coach Mike Leach.
“The university is confident that Coach Leach is moving quickly and sincerely past this unintended misstep and will provide the leadership for our student-athletes and excitement for our football program that our fans deserve and that our students and alumni will be proud to support.”
Cohen instructed Leach to tour the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, both in Jackson, after restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic are lifted. The coach also was ordered to have “listening sessions” with students, alumni and community groups.
