Mississippi State baseball and softball coaches issue statements calling for flag change

No baseball regionals, softball regionals or other NCAA postseason events can be held in Mississippi unless state flag gets changed

With the NCAA announcing on Friday that it will no longer allow postseason events of any kind to be held in Mississippi unless the state flag is changed, two of the programs most impacted by the new rule are Mississippi State baseball and softball. MSU baseball has frequently hosted regionals through the years at Dudy Noble Field and are in the hosting discussion on virtually a yearly basis. Bulldog softball was on a path to potentially host a regional of its own this past season before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shut down the campaign.

However now, those two programs won't even be allowed to host as long as the current state flag waves. The flag – which contains the confederate battle emblem that many view as racist – had already kept predetermined NCAA postseason events out of Mississippi. That rule was expanded upon Friday to now include all postseason events.

In the wake of the announcement, MSU baseball head coach Chris Lemonis released this statement on Friday afternoon calling for a new state flag:

pic.twitter.com/pLsh0k2OmS

— Chris Lemonis (@lemo22) June 19, 2020

Mississippi State head softball coach Samantha Ricketts joined in wanting a change to the flag as well:

We have power and a platform with a responsibility to use it to affect change. It is time to change the flag. #HailState pic.twitter.com/acwqHs0q6w

— Samantha Ricketts (@Coach_Ricketts) June 19, 2020

This all comes on the heels of debates renewing about changing the state of Mississippi's flag in the wake 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 142,500 signatures as of Friday.

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.