The University of Mississippi football program, or Ole Miss Rebels, has produced several Super Bowl winners, and Jaxson Dart is the next exciting talent set to join the NFL in a few days. Another famous name of the institute, Brandon Bolden, who won multiple Super Bowls during his time with the New England Patriots, shared an interesting story about his Ole Miss days.
Bolden played for Ole Miss from 2008 to 2011. However, he had a rude awakening midway through his third year at the school.
During an appearance on the Raw Room hosted by NFL vets Daren Bates, Jalen Collins, and King Dunlap in March, Bolden spoke about his chance encounter with the notorious Ku Klux Klan—a violent White supremacist hate group.
The Rebels were gearing up to play the LSU Tigers. Bolden and his teammates reached the venue and heard a lot of people shouting curse words and screaming at the top of their voices.
The 35-year-old remembered seeing not just the infamous white robes the clan members wear but also the rare ones, which seldom make public appearances.
Bolden revealed that the atmosphere was extremely heated. Fans started throwing any object they found nearby. The local authorities had to call the National Guard to get the situation under control.
It took a while to quiet the place down. Later, they found out the reason behind the ruckus was that one of the parents exposed the school for playing a ‘Dixie Song’—the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy—during another game at the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Despite studying at Ole Miss for a couple of years, Brandon Bolden wasn’t aware that the school had a Confederate flag flying at one end of the campus.
The said game between Ole Miss and LSU ended with the Rebels defeating the Tigers 25-23. Bolden had 14 carries in the game for 40 yards, along with one catch. Ole Miss finished the year with an 8-4 record to set up a fixture against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at the Cotton Bowl. The Rebels defeated the Cowboys 21-7.
Bolden played 48 games for Ole Miss. He rushed for 2594 yards (5.3 yards per carry) for 27 rushing touchdowns. He went undrafted in 2012.
The New England Patriots invited Bolden for a trial and later signed a contract with the Boston franchise. Bolden went on to spend 9 seasons with the Patriots, divided into two separate spells, and won two rings playing alongside Tom Brady.
In between his two spells in New England, Bolden played one season for the Miami Dolphins. He last played football for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. Bolden played a total of 164 games in the NFL, rushing 304 times for 1394 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 109 passes for 959 yards and scored 7 receiving touchdowns.
