NCAA, SEC putting pressure on Mississippi to change its state flag

The SEC and NCAA want Mississippi to change its state flag right now.

It’s time for the state of Mississippi to get a new state flag.

It is the only flag in the United States to display the confederate battle flag on its banner. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent out a statement on Thursday evening about how it’s time for Mississippi to change its flag. One-seventh of the SEC’s member institutions reside in Mississippi with the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University.

“It is past time for change to be made to the flag of the State of Mississippi. Our students deserve an opportunity to learn and compete in environments that are inclusive and welcoming to all.”

“In the event there is no change, there will consideration of precluding Southeastern Conference championship events from being conducted in the State of Mississippi until the state flag is changed.”

Though Mississippi doesn’t have a major metropolis like other states in the SEC, both the Ole Miss Rebels and the Mississippi State Bulldogs have phenomenal baseball teams. This would prevent them from hosting regional tournaments on either the Oxford or Starkville campuses.

The NCAA expanded its confederate flag policy to all championships on Friday afternoon.

Will Mississippi finally change its state flag because of the SEC, NCAA?

While Mississippi is most under the gun by this SEC and NCAA policy, there are other states that may consider changing their flags again within the SEC footprint. We’re looking at you, Alabama and Georgia. It’s going to be really hard to have marquee events in major southeastern cities like Atlanta and Birmingham with their not-so-subtle flags that pay tribute to the Confederacy.

Alabama’s state flag looks similar to the Confederate battle flag displayed in the upper left-hand corner of the Mississippi flag. It’s not a direct match, but it has some similarities. Keep in mind the SEC is headquartered in Birmingham, which is one of the three rotating cities for SEC Media Days along with Atlanta and Nashville.

And then there’s the Georgia flag…

Georgia changed its flag twice-over years ago, but it looks nearly identical to the Confederate States of America’s national flag. The only discernible difference is in the upper left-hand corner there is the famous Georgia arch symbolizing wisdom, justice and moderation. Put the arch on a white banner and there you go. Problem solved.

The SEC needs Atlanta because it’s the conference’s most important market. It’s more important than Birmingham, Nashville, New Orleans, Jackson, Orlando, Jacksonville, etc. Atlanta is where the SEC football championship has been played annually since 1994. It’d be a shame if a flag that doesn’t mean anything to any Georgian prevents a marquee event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

So while Mississippi will absolutely need to change its state flag, unless the state wants to be viewed as it has been nationally for generations, maybe states like Alabama and Georgia need to be proactive about this and make a change to their state flags, too. While we’re at it, the Ole Miss Landsharks has a pretty sweet ring to it. Who doesn’t love Landshark Tony these days?

Mississippi needs to change its flag, but so might a few other states like Alabama and Georgia.

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