Mars is certain of what transpired: Someone or some group of people at Ole Miss quickly leaked information to media members in an effort to minimize the appearance of impropriety related to the football program in general and Freeze’s staff in specific.

“I’m 100 percent certain the information was leaked by the university,” Mars said. “And I’m absolutely certain I could prove that in court.”

The problem for Ole Miss was this: The leaked information didn’t match the facts.