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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Breaking news: Dr. S’ spies in Oxford claim — and The Daily Mississippian hints — that Mississippi State students and fans have broken into Ole Miss’ computer system and are voting for “Rowdy Rebel” (aka Skinhead Colonel Reb) in the online referendum on a new mascot to replace Slaveowner Colonel Reb. Not that it matters: The vote is non-binding. But some Rebel rooters are frothing at the mouth, anyway.

Meanwhile, Daily Mississippian columnist Steven Godfrey writes on “Fun With Racism” week in sports, leading off with the mascot mess: “So we spent thousands of dollars and toiled for months to embarrass ourselves nationally, and these are our two mascot options: Foghorn Leghorn and a skinheaded soccer hooligan. Fabulous.”

Daily Mississippian cartoon

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.