Florida Says Kiffin Slandered Meyer

Lane Kiffin made some pretty bold statements at a recent recruiting celebration banquet, stating that Urban Meyer "cheats" -- without winning no less! It was an odd way to behave considering that Kiffin must have known he was being recorded.

Florida's athletic department, predictably, is not thrilled about the accusations. And they're going so far as to sling around the legally charged term "slander" in a statement from athletic director Jeremy Foley.

"There was no rule violation and we have confirmed this with the Southeastern Conference. It is obvious that Coach Kiffin doesn't know that there is not a rule precluding phone contact with a prospect during an official visit on another campus during a contact period. His allegations are inappropriate, out of line and, most importantly, totally false. It is completely unfair to Urban Meyer, our coaching staff, our football program and our institution. The appropriate action at this time in my opinion is for Coach Kiffin to make a public apology.

His comments not only slandered our coach, but he violated SEC rules by publicly criticizing another coach and institution."

Florida's NCAA compliance officer, Jamie McCloskey, echoed similar statements, pointing out that this is "not the way you handle [a conflict with another coach]." And you know what? He's right.

It's amusing to the media that Kiffin pulled this stunt, but the fact remains that what he's accusing Meyer -- a two-time national championship-winning coach -- of is pretty serious business. And, in fact, if he's erroneous in his statements, he could be accurately portrayed as disseminating slanderous information, which could, in theory, lead to a pretty spicy lawsuit.

Ergo, unless he's 100 percent committed to his statements, the smart thing is to probably apologize to Meyer before things escalate any further.