Coach Leach in the Clarion-Liar

[Mobile Bay]

I don't subscribe so I can't read the article. Please tell me he didn't say something stupid.

[Quaoarsking]

Looks like he came across well, which is why they kept it subscriber only.

[confucius say]

Oh if he said smn stupid, you'd know it. Basically said we need open dialogue and I applaud Kylin for expressing his opinion.

[coastratdog]

It was basically OK. Asked why he didn't march and his response was he was out of town. Good time to be in Key West. Didn't address what the KJ situation will be if the flag is not changed. Said he personally has met with 40 players one on one in his office. I think he's doing everything right. Have an open dialogue with anyone who wants to discuss but never take an opinion either way.

[msbulldog]

I don't subscribe so I can't read the article. Please tell me he didn't say something stupid.

STARKVILLE ? Mike Leach has seen the impact George Floyd's death has had on people in his professional and personal life.

One of the Mississippi State football coach's friends went to high school with Floyd, a 46-year-old man who died last month after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

"Everybody's life touches another, and I know how he touched my friend's life," Leach told the Clarion Ledger. "He valued his relationship with George. I think (Floyd's death) created an awareness that is important. I think it created a dialogue that has to continue."

?I think everybody wants racial harmony. And I also think that ultimately, most people have extremely sincere motives and want to get along with one another," Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach said in an interview this week with the Clarion Ledger.

Leach has been, for the most part, publicly quiet on racial issues since Floyd's death on May 25. He hasn't issued a long statement on social media like many other SEC coaches, including Alabama's Nick Saban and Vanderbilt's Derek Mason.

He hasn't participated in a social justice march like Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher, Kentucky's Mark Stoops, Arkansas' Sam Pittman, Auburn's Gus Malzahn, Tennessee's Jeremy Pruitt, South Carolina's Will Muschamp and Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz.

Leach said he was out of town when some of his assistant coaches and players marched through the streets of Starkville on June 6. He said he encouraged them to attend the march, even though he couldn't make it himself.

"I felt like it was important for them to go because you don't want to go through life and have any regrets," Leach said. "If they weren't sure if they should go, I told them they should go. Make sure you go. If you're on the fence, go."

Leach, in response to an interview request, talked with the Clarion Ledger this week about the social strife that has intensified in the U.S. since Floyd's death.

"I think everybody wants racial harmony. And I also think that ultimately, most people have extremely sincere motives and want to get along with one another," Leach said. "But the biggest thing is everybody wants to be heard. I think the opportunity to be heard is important to everybody."

Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill wanted to be heard Monday when he tweeted he does not want to represent the state of Mississippi so long as the Confederate emblem remains on the state flag. Leach said he commended Hill for voicing his opinion on a topic that has taken over the state this month.

Leach has given his players and other key figures around the Mississippi State football program more opportunities to be heard in recent weeks. Shortly after Floyd's death, parents of players were invited to virtually participate at the end of a standard team meeting to discuss the country's current climate of racial unrest.

Kevin Warren, the father of MSU redshirt junior tight end Powers Warren, is the commissioner of the Big 10. He listened in on his son's team meeting and was so impressed by the mood of it that he told SEC commissioner Greg Sankey positive, powerful conversations are being had at Mississippi State. Sankey then commended Leach and his staff in an SEC meeting.

"You always want that type of feedback to make sure you're heading in the right direction," Leach said.

Mississippi State also arranged for former Starkville chief of police Frank Nichols to speak during a team meeting. Nichols became Starkville's first Black chief of police in 2014. He spoke to the team about the importance of racial equality and a healthy relationship between law enforcement officials and citizens of all races.

Next up on the guest list could be a Mississippi State history professor, Leach said, because he wants his players to be as educated as possible on the history of race relations in the Magnolia State. Team meetings have not been the only avenue for the dialogue.

Leach said he has met with 40 of his players in his office in the last two weeks. He said he's been receptive to anything they'd like to talk about during these difficult times.

"When people work together one-on-one, they typically get along together quite well," Leach said. "That's the thing ? there has to be communication and relationships to the point where people really know one another. And when they do, they discover they have a lot more in common than they do differences. And then they respect and work through them."

Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!


-Cleaned it up for ya - Scooba