Kylin Hill proved college players’ power in getting Mississippi to change its flag

Kylin Hill had a role in helping get the Mississippi state flag changed.

Kylin Hill was already on his way to being an SEC football legend at Mississippi State.

The Columbus, Mississippi native is coming off a First-Team All-SEC season with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He could have easily entered the 2020 NFL Draft, but he opted to stay for his senior season in Starkville to play alongside Stanford Cardinal graduate transfer quarterback K.J. Costello, as well as in new head coach Mike Leach’s funky Air Raid offensive system.

Hill is one of the best players in the SEC and is arguably the best player on his college football team. However, he was in the news in June for completely different reasons outside of his play on the field. As part of the Black Lives Matter movement, Hill said he would no longer play for Mississippi State unless the state’s flag was changed to something that didn’t condone racism.

Mississippi was the last state to display the battle emblem of the Confederacy on its flag. Having the “Stars and Bars” in the upper lefthand corner of the flag symbolized that racial inequality was not completely a thing of the past in the Magnolia State. Hill threatening to end his college career and potentially enter the NFL Supplemental Draft signified a time for change in Mississippi.

Leach, Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin and several other coaches and university administrators went to the state capital in Jackson, urging the state legislature to change the state flag immediately. It was a hot-button issue, but one governor Tate Reeves said he would sign the bill if the state legislature approved of changing the Mississippi state flag once and for all.

Kylin Hill played a huge part in Mississippi getting a new state flag.

On Saturday, it was announced that a resolution was expected to pass by the Mississippi legislature to remove the current state flag. Once Governor Reeves signs that bill, it will be official. Hill was ecstatic to see his state do something it absolutely should have done a very long time ago. He quote tweeted Mississippi Today’s editor-in-chief Adam Ganucheau’s breaking news.

https://twitter.com/H_Kylin/status/1276947153617850368

It was a bold stance and a courageous one for Hill to make. Mississippi is home for him. He’s been such a tremendous player in Starkville the last few years. To be an impetus in helping Mississippi change its state flag after decades upon decades of its existence in kind of unfathomable really. Yes, the NCAA and SEC wanted to see the flag changed too, but Hill was right there with them.

Hill may not ever get to play in an SEC Championship Game while at Mississippi State. Who knows for sure if Mississippi State will even go bowling this year in Leach’s first season? Hill may not eclipse 1,000 rushing yards again in his football life. It is hard to run the ball in the Air Raid. But today’s legislation will forever be part of his legacy and one Mississippi should be proud of.

Hill proved college athletes have all the power to make a world of difference in their communities.

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