Mississippi has had plenty of opportunities to change its state flag in recent years but there has never been this much momentum calling for the state to remove the Confederate logo from the state symbol.

The push toward changing the flag has heated up recently with the SEC, NCAA, C-USA and Bulldog running back Kylin Hill all calling for change.

“Either change the flag or I won’t be representing this State anymore and I meant that .. I’m tired,” Hill tweeted out on Monday in regards to the flag.

While momentum toward change is strong at the moment, SEC Network host Paul Finebaum is calling for two of the most powerful people in the state to help push that momentum in a direction that finally results in a change.

During his Tuesday appearance on ESPN program “First Take,” Finebaum was asked to share his opinion on Hill’s comments, which followed statements from the SEC and the NCAA.

“Last Thursday night, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Greg Sankey, said we’re not taking anything else to Mississippi – any other championships to Mississippi – until that flag comes down,” Finebaum said on the show. “The next day, the NCAA said the same thing, we’re not taking NCAA championships. And the statements by both were supported by the president and athletic director in both Mississippi State and Ole Miss. So what Kylin Hill is doing here, to me, is in concert with what everyone else has already said, except he was responding to the governor of the state of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, who some had considered progressive until this moment when he tried to lollygag around the issue, saying we could have a second flag or we could have this, that’s not going to work.

“So in the end, I think what what what Hill has done here is heroic, and I encouraged him to back it up. Don’t just put out a tweet and say you’re not going to play when they don’t take the flag down and you show up for practice. Don’t play. Because that’s the only way to get this stupid flag down.”

After making those comments, Finebaum then pointed toward the SEC head coaches from the state to join the cause.

“I really hope that the coach at Mississippi State, Mike Leach, who so far has issued a rather tepid statement in support of this player, gets behind this,” Finebaum added. “And I hope Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss will get his players behind it, because without, that flag is still going to fly.”

Before moving on to another segment, Finebaum offered up on last thought on the subject, again calling for Leach to take a stronger stance and back up Hill, who is the SEC’s leading returning rusher after rushing for 1,350 yards last season.

“I’m a native southerner, and you know, it pains me as someone who grew up in the South, with New York parents I might add, that we’re still going through this… I hope people like Dak Prescott, who went to that university, other players who have been to both Ole Miss and Mississippi State, but especially the current players, those are the key players,” Finebaum concluded. “Those are the players that need to stand behind this.

“This is an outstanding player, by the way, he’s one of the best running backs in the SEC. But I also want to see his coach get behind him, not lip service. Get behind your player.”

Now we wait to see what Leach decides to do.

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