Ole Miss has apologized for a pair of now-deleted tweets following its 27-14 win against Liberty on Saturday, a game that marked the return of former coach Hugh Freeze to Oxford, Mississippi. After the No. 16 Rebels pulled off the victory to move to 7-2, the team's social media team unloaded on the former head coach, who now holds the same job with the Flames.
"These tweets were unfortunate and not who we are in Ole Miss athletics," said Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter to ESPN. "When I found out about them, they were immediately taken down. I have spoken with [Liberty athletic director] Ian McCaw to relay my sincere apology. We will work to do better in the future."
The tweets took direct aim at Freeze for events that happened during his time with Ole Miss and Liberty. The first read "If you have complaints about this result, send it to lufootball@liberty.edu. If not, please do not slander these young men or insult their family." It was a not-so-subtle reference to a tweet from Freeze in 2013 challenging allegations of NCAA violations during his time with the Rebels.
Of course, major violations ultimately did come out. Ole Miss was dinged for 15 Level I violations under Freeze's watch and had to vacate 33 wins for playing ineligible players. Other penalties included a two-year bowl ban and scholarship reductions.
The Twitter account did not stop there, though. Ole Miss then tweeted a picture of Freeze's now-infamous game against Syracuse in 2019 with the caption "Won the Day." The photo is in reference to a game Freeze coached from a hospital bed while recovering from a herniated disk in his back. Syracuse won the game 24-0 and Orange head coach Dino Babers waved to Freeze up in the box in lieu of a handshake at midfield.
The account quickly deleted both tweets, but things on the Internet live forever through screenshots.
Oh, Ole Miss can delete the tweets, but the internet will ALWAYS have receipts. pic.twitter.com/LQgOXHjs0z
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) November 6, 2021
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, an avid tweeter himself, said he was unaware of the tweets. Freeze offered no comment.
"I have no affiliation with the Ole Miss football Twitter site, even though it may sound strange, and I first learned about the tweets after my press conference when Keith Carter told me about them," Kiffin told ESPN. "I'm completely embarrassed that anyone would put something out there like that making it look like it was a part of Ole Miss football. It was extremely disrespectful, bush league and classless, and I apologize, even though I had nothing to do with it, to Liberty and Hugh Freeze."
