On paper, the 2024 Ole Miss Rebels are the best team that head coach Lane Kiffin’s has had during his tenure in Oxford.
While the majority of the hype and hoopla surrounds Georgia, Ohio State, Texas and Oregon, Kiffin’s Rebels are undoubtedly a legitimate threat to win the national title.
Having said that, Kiffin’s excitement for the rapidly-approaching season has dampened a tad thanks to the news that he’s being sued for past social media activity.
The lawsuit, filed by Dr. Keith Bell, a Texas-based swimming psychologist, centers around a copyright dispute involving Bell’s book titled “Winning Isn’t Normal.”
Bell claims to hold the copyright to the book’s title and a specific passage Kiffin shared in a tweet back in 2016.
Court documents reveal that Kiffin retweeted a passage from Bell’s book, leading Bell to issue multiple cease-and-desist letters.
Bell argues that Kiffin’s tweet constitutes copyright infringement, particularly concerning the “WIN (Winning Isn’t Normal)” passage.
In response to these letters, Kiffin eventually deleted the tweet.
The 2016 tweet was not the only time Kiffin referenced Bell’s work. In 2022, Kiffin posted another tweet, this time featuring a photo of a seven-paragraph excerpt titled “WINNING ISN’T NORMAL.”
Bell contends that this post was nearly identical to a passage in his book. He sent a second cease-and-desist letter to Kiffin, accusing the coach of failing to comply with his earlier demands.
Bell’s lawsuit states that Kiffin’s decision to leave the tweet up after the initial warning is “irrefutable evidence” of copyright infringement.
The tweet has also since been deleted.
Bell is seeking damages for copyright infringement, though the lawsuit does not specify the amount of financial compensation he is pursuing.
Since taking over as head coach at Ole Miss in 2020, Kiffin has established himself as one of the program’s most successful coaches, boasting a 34-15 record over four seasons.
Under his leadership, the Rebels have recorded two 10-plus win seasons and are considered major contenders this season.
As the legal battle unfolds, Kiffin and the Rebels are in the midst of an intense camp, gearing up for their season opener against Furman on Saturday, August 31.
Arguably the most polarizing coach in the country, where exactly do you rank Kiffin when it comes to the top coaches in all of college football???