Tennessee chancellor issues statement on fans trashing Ole Miss sideline

After Tennessee fans threw trash and other objects at the Ole Miss sideline on Saturday night, chancellor Donde Plowman has issued a statement on the unfortunate incident.

“I am astonished and sickened by the behavior of some Vol fans at the end of tonight’s game,” Plowman tweeted. “Good sportsmanship must be part of who we are as Volunteers. Behavior that puts student athletes, coaches, visitors, and other fans at risk is not something we will tolerate.”

Plowman joins Tennessee athletic director Danny White and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in releasing statements on the incident. Fans started trashing the field after Tennessee failed to convert a fourth down conversion, giving Ole Miss the ball.

White, Sankey statements on the incident

White said in a statement that he was disappointed that Tennessee fans threw trash towards the Ole Miss sidelines. He called the incident “unacceptable” and later went on to apologize to Ole Miss on behalf of Tennessee.

“On behalf of the University of Tennessee, I’d like to apologize to the Ole Miss football program and congratulate their student-athletes on a hard fought win,” White said. “I spoke with Keith Carter after the game and expressed that same sentiment to him.”

Sankey said that the SEC will be reviewing the incident. The conference will impose appropriate penalties to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“We will review existing Conference policies and the Commissioner’s authority to impose penalties and communicate with the leadership at the University of Tennessee – and all of the SEC’s member universities – to make certain this situation is not repeated,” Sankey said.

Tennessee falls to 4-3 on the year and 2-2 in the SEC while Ole Miss improves to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. Fans hit Ole Miss coach with a golf ball during the chaos. Kiffin also caught an errant water bottle.