HOOVER, Ala. • Several coaches have tackled the Confederate flag issue here at Southeastern Conference football media days, some more nimbly than others. With the flag a prevalent topic here in the South since last month’s racially charged massacre in Charleston, S.C., South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier and Alabama’s Nick Saban handled the question swiftly, agreeing with their respective governors’ decisions to remove the flag from the grounds of their state Capitols.
“My opinion is any time we have a symbol that represents something that is mean spirited or doesn't represent equal rights for all people, I'm not for having that symbol represent anything that we're involved in,” Saban said Wednesday.