He’s perhaps the greatest storyteller of all time. An author of adventures seemingly written for youth, but saturated with adult irony, symbolism and sitz en lieben. I have a copy of one of his volumes in my office, and from time to time, peruse it for humor and wisdom.
Perhaps Lane Kiffin should have taken his advice. Lest you don’t know Coach Lane (no relation to any family member of mine, by the way), he is the new Head Football Volunteer for the University of Tennessee.
It seems that this past week, assistant Vol Coach Eddie Gran was booted off Pahokee Florida High School’s property because of something Lane Kiffin said back in February. Gran was coming to the school to present a scholarship offer to junior Antonio Ford, but Principal Ariel Alejo said “no one from Tennessee is allowed on school grounds until Coach Kiffen comes to Pahokee and publicly apologizes for what he said.” And he told Coach Gran to leave the property....immediately.
Wow! What did Kiffin do that so upset the Pahokee school administration?
It seems it all had to do with one Nu’Keese Richardson, who was a student at Pahokee and signed a scholarship with Tennessee. The day after he signed, Kiffin accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating and said he could not trust officials at Pahokee High with handling Richardson's paperwork. "Someone at the school was going to screw it up," Kiffin said Feb. 5. "The fax machine wouldn't work, or they would have changed the signatures - all the things that go on in Pahokee." Kiffin went on to say, "For those of you who haven't been to Pahokee, there ain't much going on. You take that hour drive up from South Florida, there ain't a gas station that works. Nobody's got enough money to even have shoes or a shirt on."
As it turns out, Urban Meyer not only did NOT cheat (at least in the recruiting of Richardson)….the rule Kiffin accused Meyer of breaking does not even exist.
Philip Marshall, senior writer for Auburn Undercover says, “Lane Kiffin has proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”
Yes, Coach Kiffin should read one of the greatest authors of all time, and heed his advice.
That advice?
“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”
Of course, this is a quote from the great Mark Twain. I have these words written on a piece of paper that serves as a bookmark in my copy of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. The volume has a prominent place in my office.
Coach Kiffin, Mark Twain would tell you, “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”
WJLaneSR
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