Lane Kiffin and the Louisiana State Tigers weren’t the only visitors getting roughed up in Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday night.
As the reviled head coach and his seventh-ranked Tigers were falling to the Rebels in his return to Ole Miss, one LSU fan was seen being bludgeoned by police while interjecting in the arrest of another. In the end, both men were apprehended and marched out of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium before the Tigers‘ comeback attempt fell short in the 32-24 defeat.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Ole Miss police, Mississippi State Highway Patrol and Oxford police for more information on the arrests.
Video posted online and provided to The Daily Mail by Ohio’s Tate of Barstool Sports shows one LSU supporter being apprehended in the front row of the end-zone seating. But while that suspect did not resist arrest, another purple-and-gold-clad man began aggressively recording the officer.
Wearing a replica jersey bearing former LSU star cornerback Patrick Peterson’s No. 7, the second suspect quickly became entangled in a physical confrontation with the officer, who initially tried to bear hug the LSU fan into submission before connecting a wild left hook.
For his part, the man in the Peterson jersey appeared to shove the officer before trying to raise his arms in the air as if to surrender himself.
An LSU fan in a Patrick Peterson replica jersey is seen shoving an officer in Oxford on Saturday
The officer unloaded a left hook on the man in the Patrick Peterson jersey, who was arrested
Two LSU fans are marched out of the end-zone seating in Oxford after the bizarre incident
Mississippi Highway Patrol officers quickly arrived and forced the man in the Peterson jersey to the ground, where he was handcuffed.
Both men were then marched out of the end-zone seating as Ole Miss fans cheered or recorded the incident on their phones.
Saturday’s SEC showdown marked the first time the divisive Tigers head coach had stepped foot in Oxford, Mississippi since he dramatically defected to LSU in November.
In accepting a seven-year, $91 million deal with LSU, and taking a few key assistant coaches with him on his way out the door, Kiffin made himself persona non grata in Oxford, where fans hurled expletives at him.
Kiffin stunned the college football world when he left for LSU after leading Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff. He wanted to stay on and coach the Rebels in the postseason, but that prospect was emphatically dismissed. In the end, defensive coordinator Pete Golding would lead them to the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs before getting off to an impressive 3-0 start this season.
Next week, Ole Miss heads to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators, while LSU (2-1) hosts a Texas A&M team coming off an upset loss to Kentucky.
