SEC says Mississippi must change flag or risk championship events
While the state is uncertain about the change, its universities support the removal of the emblem from the flag
The Southeastern Conference has issued a warning to the state of Mississippi, change your flag or risk losing opportunities to participate in the big dance at the end of the season.
“It is past time for change to be made to the flag of the State of Mississippi,” Commissioner Greg Sankey wrote in a statement tweeted by the SEC. “Our students deserve an opportunity to learn and compete in environments that are inclusive and welcoming to all.”
READ MORE: Pelosi orders removal of Confederate portraits from Capitol
Mississippi’s official state flag still features the confederate battle emblem. Theirs is the last state flag in the United States to still have the emblem. Georgia changed its flag in 2003.
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Statement from @SEC Commissioner @GregSankey on State of Mississippi flag pic.twitter.com/BR5Ei1l17X
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) June 18, 2020
The statement warned that if the state does not change the flag, “there will be consideration of precluding Southeastern Conference championship events from being conducted in the State of Mississippi until the state flag is changed.”
Lawmakers have started drafting legislation to remove the symbol from the flag, however, Governor Tate Reeves supports the decision being made at the polls rather than in the legislature.
Chad Kelly #10 of the Mississippi Rebels reacts after passing for a touchdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 19, 2015 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Mississippi’s universities support the removal of the emblem from the flag. Ole Miss University stopped flying the flag over its campus in 2015. “The University of Mississippi community concluded years ago that the Confederate battle flag did not represent many of our core values, such as civility and respect for others,” the university tweeted in a statement. “Mississippi needs a flag that represents the qualities about our state that unite us, not those that still divide us.”
A message from Chancellor Glenn Boyce and Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter. pic.twitter.com/gqJxxj6ca6
— Ole Miss Athletics (@OleMissSports) June 19, 2020
Mississippi has the largest population of Black citizens in the United States of America. The state has had an entrenched culture of white supremacy since the Civil War.
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Just three days ago, a white elected Mississippi official, Harry Sanders, said that African Americans developed a “dependency” since the end of enslavement. “they didn’t have to go out and earn any money, they didn’t have to do anything. Whoever owned them took care of them, fed them, clothed them, worked them. They became dependent, and that dependency is still there.”
The remarks were widely condemned as “appalling.”
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