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Ole Miss still dealing with racial issues

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 24, 2001

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Neither the University of Mississippi nor the state itself has enjoyed the most progressive reputation when it comes to America's civil rights struggle. A bit of scrutiny was placed back on the school in the past week when athletic administrators decided to have the pep band stop playing Dixie.

Ole Miss senior center Rahim Lockhart admits he doesn't like the song or the rebel flag that some Ole Miss fans wave at sporting events because of the association both things have with the Civil War. But Lockhart insists his school and state get a bad rap when it comes to racism.

"I feel like if you want to move forward, you've got to disassociate yourself with the past," Lockhart said. "But I grew up in Mississippi and I've actually encountered more overt racism outside of Mississippi than I have inside the state. ... I would tell people I think the university is a good place to be as an African-American athlete. If anything, they (the university) know the stigma and they almost go out of their way to make it better."

ODD FRIENDSHIP: Bob Knight took over at Texas Tech, and at least one future Big 12 rival, Kansas coach Roy Williams, said he "welcomes" Knight into the league. But perhaps it's no wonder. Williams said he considers Knight a "real good friend" because "we played them six times and beat them five out of six. And he still treats me the same way. Now, I know a lot of people wouldn't believe that. But I can only go by how he treats me."

DON'T LOOK BACK: Williams said he doesn't think much about last summer, when he struggled to decide if he should leave to coach his alma mater, North Carolina, or stay with the Jayhawks.

"It is something everyone is asking about now," Williams said. "Once I made the decision, I did not look back. It is something I don't know that I'll ever get over because it was so hard and so stressful. I'm the coach here. I don't wonder what it would have been like at Chapel Hill. I haven't done that a single time, and I will not do that."

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