Mississippi State president blasts report indicating AD hire has been made
Published:
A report earlier from The Clarion-Ledger on Wednesday had MSU choosing to hire its baseball coach John Cohen as the new athletic director.
Later in the day, head football coach Dan Mullen strongly denied the report during his weekly press conference — saying the article “was a completely false statement.”
With rumors swirling throughout the realm of social media, school president Mark E. Keenum issued a statement on the status of the athletic director position:
“The report today by The Clarion-Ledger’s Mike Bonner indicated that a decision has been made in that process was inaccurate. I’m extremely disappointed that a reputable newspaper and reporter would make such a report without seeking basic confirmation of the facts of the story being circulated. Doing so is irresponsible and in some ways may interfere with the process. It’s unfair to the candidates seeking the position who have not yet been interviewed.
At present, no decisions have been made, no announcements prepared, and no press conferences scheduled. Neither I nor any of the university’s senior communications staff was asked to confirm or deny Mr. Bonner’s story prior to his publication of it. Perhaps that’s most disappointing of all.
We’re not going to make this personnel decision in the media. We will follow our plan, we will conduct this search in the manner we previously outlined, and we will ultimately make the best decision for Mississippi State. This will be done in an expeditious timeline, but on our timeline.”
A co-worker of Bonner’s — editor and columnist Hugh Kellenberger — issued this tweet in support of the initial report:
Mike has led from the beginning on this search. I stand by his reporting.
— Hugh Kellenberger (@KellenbergerGLF) October 12, 2016
Bonner then tweeted out that he stands by his initial publishing of the piece:
Just providing all the details. But I stand by my report. https://t.co/fuwln4XaG0 https://t.co/P4gxFs57qF
— Michael Bonner (@michaelbbonner) October 12, 2016
