Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, pictured, did not discuss Jeffery Simmons this week in Destin but told ESPN on Friday that the five-star defensive end who struck a woman in March "deserved a chance in life."The Southeastern Conference's spring meetings wrapped up Friday afternoon in Destin, Fla., and not in the smoothest of ways.
One day after Mississippi State University announced that five-star defensive end Jeffery Simmons would be allowed to enroll despite punching a woman in March, league commissioner Greg Sankey addressed the situation and had a different interpretation from MSU athletic director Scott Stricklin the day before.
Stricklin said Thursday afternoon that the SEC was "comfortable" with the university's decision to enroll Simmons and saddle him with a single-game suspension in MSU's opener against South Alabama.
"I would say awareness and comfort are two different things," Sankey said in a news conference. "It is an institutional decision. The characterization of comfort with their decision is not a characterization I would provide."
Simmons, a top-20 national recruit this past winter who picked the Bulldogs over Alabama and Ole Miss, was charged with simple assault and disturbing the peace during a dispute in a parking lot in Macon, Miss. The 6-foot-4, 277-pounder was caught on video punching a woman who was on the ground multiple times in several seconds.
MSU's decision comes on the heels of the sexual assault debacle at Baylor University that has resulted in the departures of coach Art Briles, athletic director Ian McCaw and president Ken Starr, who was reassigned to the role of chancellor but already has resigned from that position.
Stricklin was grilled in Destin on Thursday by reporters, including Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated, who asked if hitting a woman should draw the identical suspension as a targeting foul. Another reporter asked if a two-star recruit would be getting the same deal as Simmons, and Stricklin said he could not answer that question.
"This was a parking lot fight that got out of control, which is why he's not being charged with domestic violence or sexual assault," Stricklin said Thursday. "That doesn't make it OK, but it makes it a unique situation and a unique case."
MSU coach Dan Mullen, who avoided the topic in Destin, spoke with ESPN on Friday.
"As we looked at all of the details of the situation, beyond just the part of the video that's been in the media, we felt like he deserved a chance in life," Mullen said.
The SEC has a "Serious Misconduct" bylaw applying to transferring student-athletes who have been "convicted of or plead guilty or no contest to a felony involving serious misconduct" at any point after his or her college enrollment. Serious misconduct includes sexual assault, domestic violence, other forms of sexual violence, dating violence, stalking, or a conduct that creates concerns about the safety of others, but the bylaw does not include incoming athletes from high school.
Simmons has a trial date set for June 14.
Staying in Hoover
Athletic directors voted 14-0 this week to keep the SEC baseball tournament in the Birmingham, Ala., suburb of Hoover, which has housed the event for the past 19 years.
Memphis and Nashville submitted bids to host the tournament, as did Jacksonville, Fla., and New Orleans. Hoover is putting $70 million into Hoover Met and the stadium's surrounding area, which will include practice fields, more parking and a 155,000-square-foot multipurpose facility.
Hoover is set to host the tournament through 2021.
Smart deal signed
Georgia first-year football coach Kirby Smart has signed the six-year contract that will pay him $3.75 annually.
The signing, which was first reported by the Athens Banner-Herald through an open records request, replaces the memorandum of understanding from December. Smart will receive $400,000 in base pay, $2.27 million in media compensation (radio, television and public relations) and $1.08 in equipment endorsements.
Smart has the potential of $1.6 million more in performance bonuses, including $1 million for leading the Bulldogs to their first national championship since 1980. He will have 25 box seats and six tickets for every home game, six tickets for every road game, and a complimentary membership at Athens Country Club.
Odds and ends
Sankey said Friday that football fans in league venues this fall will see the same replays on the video boards that the officials will be viewing to determine disputed calls. There will be no change to the league's alcohol policy, but Sankey said the topic was discussed. When asked about Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari, who suggested moving the SEC tournament to November, have every school play three games and then use the regular season to determine the conference champ, Sankey said, "I love creative thinkers, because it makes other people think."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.