Cowbell Corner

Kylin Hill: "Change the flag or I won't be representing this state"

Mississippi State running back calls for change of the state of Mississippi's flag

Joel Coleman

Numerous Mississippi State coaches and administrators have come out in support of changing the state flag of Mississippi over the last several days. Now, maybe the most well-known Bulldog athlete has joined in.

MSU running back Kylin Hill took to Twitter on Monday afternoon and insisted the state flag—which contains the confederate battle emblem that many view as racist—be changed.

"Either change the flag or I won't be representing this State anymore," Hill posted. "I meant that..I'm tired."

It's unclear what exactly Hill meant with his tweet or if he'd consider not playing at MSU this season if the state doesn't change the flag. What is clear is that Hill is unquestionably one of Mississippi State's biggest weapons on offense and the Bulldogs are heavily counting on a big year from the Columbus native in 2020. Not having Hill would certainly be a major blow for MSU.

Later on Monday, other Bulldogs and former Bulldogs came out in support of Hill's post, including current defensive back Marcus Murphy and former MSU linebacker K.J. Wright of the Seattle Seahawks.

Hill was the SEC's leading rusher in the regular season a year ago. He finished the campaign with 1,350 yards on the ground and 10 touchdowns. Hill also caught 18 passes for 180 yards and a score.

Hill is expected to contribute much more in the receiving game as new MSU head coach Mike Leach brings his Air Raid offense to Starkville. State running backs coach Eric Mele outlined his hopes for Hill in an interview with Cowbell Corner last month.

"I told him when we first got the job, I said, ‘Hey listen, you’re not going to lead the SEC in rushing this year, let’s just get that out of the way, but you’ll probably lead the SEC in all-purpose yards though," Mele said of his conversation with Hill.

Talks about changing the state flag of Mississippi have been a hot topic in recent days. It all comes on the heels of the death of George Floyd and the ensuing protests around the nation regarding racial equality.

There have been many calls in the past and present to change the state flag, but the symbol has remained in Mississippi. Mississippi voters overwhelmingly voted to keep the current flag when the issue went to ballots back in 2001. The current flag won by a nearly two-to-one margin. Nearly 20 years later though, the current climate has led to much renewed interest in revisiting the issue.

Some Mississippi lawmakers began moving towards trying to change the state flag last week. A resolution was filed to start the process, which sought to change the flag by a legislative measure instead of a statewide public vote. However Mississippi Today reported on Wednesday that Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann had assigned the legislation to change the flag to a Senate Constitution committee where the legislation would not likely pass.

Still, there is much public support to change the flag. An online petition to change it had gathered more than 143,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon.

At the same time, many Mississippians also remain in the corner of keeping the current flag. A recent poll from Mississippi-based Chism Strategies had 46 percent of respondents in favor of retaining the current flag with 45 percent in support of changing it. Nine percent were unsure.

This past Thursday, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey announced the SEC would consider no longer holding championship events inside the state of Mississippi unless the flag is changed. The NCAA followed on Friday by announcing it wouldn't allow Mississippi's schools to host postseason championship events of any kind, including baseball regionals and NCAA women's basketball tournament games.

Both MSU President Mark Keenum and athletic director John Cohen have issued statements over the last few days calling for the state flag to change. Head football coach Mike Leach tweeted out support for Keenum following Keenum's remarks on the issue. Many other Mississippi State coaches across other sports have also denounced the current state flag.

Mississippi State removed the state flag from being displayed in most areas of its campus back in 2016.

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Joel Coleman
JOEL COLEMAN

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