OXFORD — Lane Kiffin‘s Twitter account has once again crafted a masterpiece in trolling.
Former Liberty and Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze was officially introduced by Auburn on Tuesday, taking over a job Kiffin was heavily linked to before signing a contract extension to remain at Ole Miss. During his introductory press conference, Freeze made it clear he believes the Auburn job is a higher station than what he held in Oxford from 2012-17.
“I feel like this is, no offense to another school or anything, but I feel like I’ve leapfrogged where I was at that time by being in this family and this culture here,” Freeze said. “… I see this as one of the top 10 football programs in the nation.”
Kiffin responded to that quote on Twitter early Wednesday morning, alluding to reports that Auburn had taken control of Freeze’s social media accounts as part of his contract with the university. Freeze denied those reports.
“I would tweet at you but I guess you aren’t allowed to respond by Auburn football now,” Kiffin wrote.
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Freeze resigned from Ole Miss in 2017 after a university investigation relating to a call to an escort service found a “pattern of personal misconduct.” Had he not resigned, then Athletic Director Ross Bjork said he would have used a “moral turpitude” clause to terminate Freeze’s contract.
In July, while coaching Liberty, he sent a private Twitter message to Chelsea Andrews, a sexual assault survivor and former Liberty student who Tweeted criticism of Flames athletic director Ian McCaw and the university’s handling of sexual assault allegations.
“You don’t even know Ian McCaw,” Freeze wrote. “He is the most Jesus like leader I have ever seen or been around but you take every chance you can to take a shot at him. I don’t understand that mentality.”
Why is the head football coach at Liberty University DMing me during and after my lawsuit with LU?
At almost midnight.
When I didn’t tag him.
& I haven’t responded to the other DMs he’s sent over the months
Publicly naming so he can see that I don’t want direct contact w/ him pic.twitter.com/K3icZAuops
— Chelsea Andrews (@chelsandrews) July 10, 2022
Freeze apologized to Andrews during a conversation with ESPN’s Chris Low Tuesday.
“I learned from this situation that I should totally understand other people’s circumstances before communicating or commenting on someone’s situation,” he said. “I was an inadvertent misstep with no ill intent, and I am sorry.”
Kiffin and Ole Miss will visit Freeze’s Tigers on Oct. 21 next season.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin trolls new Auburn coach Hugh Freeze