College football coach facing lawsuit

Over the course of his career, Lane Kiffin has received plenty of attention for his use of social media.

But it appears that the Ole Miss head coach’s X feed has now landed him in potential legal trouble, as he is now facing a lawsuit for copyright infringement from a psychologist and author.

According to The Clarion-Ledger , Dr. Keith Bell is suing Kiffin for one count of copyright infringement for a pair of social media posts the Rebels head coach made in 2016 and 2022. Regarding the first post, Bell alleges that Kiffin “retweeted” a passage from his 1981 book, “Winning Isn’t Normal.” As for the 2022 post, the author says that the 49-year-old head coach posted a seven-paragraph passage under the heading “WINNING ISN’T NORMAL.”

According to the lawsuit, which was filed  in the Oxford Division of the Northern Mississippi District of U.S. District Court last week, Bell sent Kiffin cease-and-desist letters following both posts and says that the coach failed to comply with the demand in 2022. Kiffin will presumably attempt to get the lawsuit dismissed or defend himself citing fair use — a notion Bell seemingly attempts to get ahead of by arguing that the coach’s social media account qualifies as “commercial” since it helps bolster his professional efforts.

The Clarion-Ledger also notes that court records show that Bell has filed at least 12 copyright-related lawsuits since 2020.

“I didn’t really pay attention to it,” Kiffin said of the lawsuit Monday, according to the paper. “I’m not supposed to comment. I mean, what are we talking about? I will just say, I’ve never read the book. I don’t even remember the quote that I tweeted or something. I’m not supposed to say that either.”

Considering that Kiffin is a prolific tweeter and also likely isn’t the only one who posts from his account, it’s totally plausible — if not likely — that he doesn’t actually remember the post in question. For a multitude of reasons, it’s hard to imagine this lawsuit making it to trial, whether it’s dismissed or settled beforehand. But that can’t help us from dreaming about the type of content that Kiffin taking the stand regarding his X account would produce.

[ The Clarion-Ledger ]

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