In a sport full of them, Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach is a singular personality. Mississippi State officials presumably understood that going in when they fired Joe Moorhead this offseason and hired the offensive guru away from Washington State.
Yet hire him they did, and we’re already seeing the blowback: A tasteless tweet last week has now caused a Mississippi State defensive tackle to enter the transfer portal, according to the player’s father.
Last week, Leach tweeted out a cartoon which showed a woman knitting a noose for her husband while locked down on quarantine. Aside from the fact that it’s just not that funny, the worst kind of 1950s leftover “take my wife, no seriously!” humor, it apparently never crossed Leach’s mind that noose imagery might not play well in Mississippi.
Shortly thereafter, DT Fabien Lovett declared his intent to transfer.
Lovett’s father, Abdual, spoke to the Clarion Ledger and confirmed that Leach’s tweet played a role in his feelings about his son playing for Mississippi State.
“I didn’t feel comfortable with my son being down there with a guy like that from a leadership standpoint – that you can just throw anything out there.”
Elite programs including Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Oregon, Ole Miss, Michigan and Houston are in the mix for Lovett, according to 24/7 Sports.
