Lane Kiffin Responds to Paul Finebaum, Ongoing NIL 'DISASTER'
OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin was vocal about his stance on the current NIL landscape at the 2023 SEC Media Days last Thursday, stating that "free agency" has been created in the NCAA Transfer Portal due to a lack of regulations.
Kiffin made headlines by calling the current state of college football a "disaster" during his opening statement, and ESPN's Paul Finebaum was not exactly thrilled with his claim. Finebaum quickly declared that it is "hypocritical" of the Rebels' coach to criticize the state of CFB.
"What was a 'disaster' is how he coached in big games last year," Finebaum said.
Kiffin took to social media on Tuesday to respond to Finebaum's dig and simultaneously continued to call out the state of NIL by citing a quote from NCAA President Charlie Baker.
"I think it was a big mistake by the NCAA not to do a framework around NIL when they had the opportunity to," NCAA President Charlie Baker said during the Future of College Athletics Summit in June. "And I think there were too many people in college sports who thought NO rules would work really well for them. And what everybody's discovered is NO rules, NO transparency, NO accountability, NO framework, doesn't work well for anybody."
Kiffin ended his post with a question and hashtag for his favorite ESPN analyst.
"Does that not sound like a DISASTER??? So crazy to point out. My bad #AngryLittleMan" -- Lane Kiffin to Paul Finebaum.
With no regulation around NIL or the transfer portal, players can essentially switch teams year after year in search of more playing time or money. Despite the backlash, Kiffin has been adamant that the system is only "going to get worse" before it gets fixed.
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