Lawsuit Challenges Confederate Ruling

Attorney Richard Barrett, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, sued the University of Mississippi, claiming it is interfering with free speech rights by banning Confederate flags from football games.

Barrett, who did not attend Ole Miss, asked a federal judge in Oxford, Miss., to intervene before the university’s Southeastern Conference game Saturday against Georgia.

In the six-page complaint, Barrett claims he was threatened with arrest at the Rebels’ Nov. 6 game against Arkansas, the first game where flag sticks were banned.

The Ole Miss athletic department decided last month to ban flag sticks and other pointed objects from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

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Embattled Louisville Coach Ron Cooper was fired in the wake of the worst season in the school’s history.

Cooper, who had two years remaining on a five-year contract, guided the Cardinals to a 1-10 record this season. He was 13-20 in three years at the school.

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Coach Hal Mumme received a five-year contract extension from Kentucky worth $2.25 million. . . . Charles Woodson of Michigan, Dre’ Bly of North Carolina and Fred Weary of Florida are finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive back. The winner will be announced Dec. 11.