A group of celebrities and sports figures, including Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, and two-time Ole Miss Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Archie Manning, joined together to sign a letter demanding that the state remove a Confederate symbol from its flag that has been a part of the banner since 1894.
The Mississippi sports figures added their names to the letter published in Sunday’s Clarion-Ledger joining the effort launched by celebrities such as singer Jimmy Buffett, actor Morgan Freeman, and writer John Grisham.
“It’s time for Mississippi to fly a flag for all its people,” the letter begins.
“It is simply not fair, or honorable, to ask black Mississippians to attend schools, compete in athletic events, work in the public sector, serve in the National Guard, and go about their normal lives with a state flag that glorifies a war fought to keep their ancestors enslaved,” the letter continued. “It’s time for Mississippi to fly a flag for all its people.”
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze signed the letter. He already went public back in July with his feelings about the Confederate flag saying, “I think it’s time that we move in a different direction.”
Other Mississippians to sign the letter include local business leader Jack Reed Sr., former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Ford, Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Glen Ballard, former Gov. William Winter, and baseball legend Boo Ferriss.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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