What Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin said about copyright lawsuit filed against him

OXFORD ― Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin said he'd never read the book at the center of a copyright lawsuit filed against him last week.

Dr. Keith Bell, the plaintiff in the case, is suing Kiffin for one count of copyright infringement for two social media posts Kiffin made in 2016 and 2022. In the first post, the lawsuit states that Kiffin "retweeted" a passage from Bell's 1981 book entitled "Winning Isn't Normal." In 2022, Kiffin posted a seven-paragraph passage under the heading "WINNING ISN'T NORMAL."

"I didn't really pay attention to it," Kiffin said Monday. "I'm not supposed to comment. I mean, what are we talking about? I will just say, I've never read the book. I don't even remember the quote that I tweeted or something. I'm not supposed to say that either."

The complaint, filed in the Oxford Division of the Northern Mississippi District of U.S. District Court, does not make a specific financial demand of Kiffin.

According to the filing, Bell sent Kiffin cease-and-desist letters following each post, claiming that the coach failed to comply with the demand in 2022.

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The lawsuit argues that the use of the "Winning Isn't Normal" passage is commercial in nature because of Kiffin's salary, the volatility of SEC coaching jobs and the impact social media can have on recruiting.

Court records show Bell has filed at least 12 copyright-related lawsuits since 2020.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin lawsuit: Ole Miss coach on copyright suit filed against him