Tennessee fans pelted Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin with cans, cups, garbage, and even at least one golf ball at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
“It’s an emotional game, and fans are emotional, but you never expect something like that, to see all that stuff come flying out of the stands,” Kiffin said, according to ESPN. “I got hit with a golf ball, but at least whoever threw it was smart enough to throw a dirty range ball.”
The outpouring of disgust from Tennessee fans occurred with only 54 seconds remaining when officials ruled that Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren was stopped just short of the first-down marker on a fourth-and-24 play.
After replay officials upheld the call, fans went wild. And as the garbage fell, security officials whisked personnel from the sidelines.
According to ESPN, some Ole Miss cheerleaders were struck with some of the mess coming down from the stands.
“There were a number of bottles with some brown stuff in them,” Kiffin said. “I’m not sure what it was. It probably wasn’t moonshine. They probably wouldn’t waste moonshine on me.”
Kiffin also reportedly responded that he was glad he didn’t get hit by the golf ball.
University of Tennessee administrators were furious at the fans’ behavior. Donde Plowman, UT’s chancellor, tweeted that she was “astonished and sickened by the behavior of some Vol fans at the end of tonight’s game.”
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