Ole Miss HC Pete Golding opens up on tampering allegations

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For myriad reasons, the Ole Miss Rebels have been in the news over the last several months. Starting with the messy divorce with former head coach Lane Kiffin and his departure for the LSU Tigers, followed by a loss in the College Football Playoff, and then numerous tampering allegations from opposing teams, Pete Golding's first year in Oxford has been eventful, to say the least.

This past week at the SEC spring meetings, Golding got a chance to step in front of a microphone and clear the air at long last. One of the most pressing questions was about the tampering allegations, stemming from earlier this spring when Clemson Tigers linebacker Luke Ferrelli reportedly received a text from Ole Miss coaches of a million-dollar check, encouraging him to transfer to Ole Miss after just transferring to Clemson from California.

Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney was not quiet about the event, publicly calling out Golding for his actions, which led others to do the same. Now, Golding is defending his position.

“I think a lot of things make headlines,” Golding said. “There’s a lot more people involved that everybody might not know. Everyone wants clarity; enforcement about a lot of these things is a real problem. I’m not going to sit up here and say whatever we did or we didn’t do, was it right or was it wrong? But, you know, when you go through what we went through, and what you’re seeing day-in and day-out, some things you feel like shouldn’t matter that they’re making a big deal about."

There is a widespread belief in college football that tampering is rampant, both with coaches and players. Multiple stories have come out about players being contacted by opposing teams mid-season, and illegal conduct taking place behind the scenes. In this case, Swinney called out the Rebels for their actions, but in a broader scope, actual punishments and enforcement are needed to curb the problem.

“It’s about the enforcement about it, that’s what everybody wants," Golding said. "What are the rules going to be in place, and are they going to be enforced? Up to this point, that hasn’t happened."

According to On3, Golding has made it clear that if Ole Miss is hit with tampering allegations, he is willing to take others down with him, naming up to 15 other schools as well.

“We’re talking about tampering, you don’t think coaches get tampered with?” Golding said on Wednesday. “We’re talking about the new Kiffin rule and all this ****, but who do you think is meeting with these [coaches] and offering them a job? Where we’re at in college football is not a really good place right now. A lot of things make headlines, and there’s a lot more people involved that everybody might not know at this point."

It's unclear what the NCAA's next move will be on this matter, but this could be just the start of the story if Golding is willing to expose others' misgivings.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Pete Golding pulls back curtain on tampering allegations at Ole Miss

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