On Friday, September 11, 2026, the Missouri Tigers beat the Kansas Jayhawks 38-21 in Lawrence in the latest edition of the Border War. He moves to 12-3 against rivals (old and new), and 11-17 in true road situations.
All of that is great and well and good. He is winning (for the most part) the games one is supposed to win as a head coach of a Power 4 program.
But man, this guy.
After the victory against Kansas, where Kansas used a lot of Civil War iconography and propaganda in the run-up to the game, including in the hype video, Drinkwitz took time in the post game press conference to, well…say this:
He also ended his statement with “We left Kansas bleeding again,” which … I mean, you get to talk after you win a rivalry game, but, uhhhhhhhhh— Alex Kirshner (@alexkirshner.com) September 11, 2026 at 9:48 PM
That comment got people’s attention. This, from earlier in the press conference…is far worse:
“I was disappointed in the rivalry, the the turn that it took today, I thought that was uncalled for, and you know, this is about two teams playing football, and especially on 9/11 when we need more unity now than ever before, to to be putting some stuff on your screen, celebrating, I mean, everybody’s got complicated pasts, you know, and to make that an icon was bizarre to me, and so I’m just glad, you know, that this whole right versus wrong bullcrap that was started just got settled on football field because it’s a football game. It’s football game. It’s an American football game. People love to come watch and cheer for their teams. It’s not even deeper than that, and I get there’s a pass to it, but why are we stirring that bullcrap up? You know, it’s 9/11. This country needs unity now more than ever, and I was embarrassed for him to be honest. And that’s why I tried to embarrass him at the end.”
For fuck’s sake.
Bleeding Kansas was a tumultuous period in U.S. History, and was one of the steps on the road to the Civil War. Within Kansas itself, there was a mini civil war about whether to enter the union as a free state or a slave state. Lawrence was a anti-slavery stronghold in the eastern part of the state.
Missouri, which was a slave state, did have its own internal tensions around slavery, as Columbia was a pro-Union stronghold. The “Fighting Tigers” were a militia group that defended Columbia from pro-slavery bushwhackers.
THE TIGERS AND THE JAYHAWKS WERE ON THE SAME FUCKING SIDE IN THE WAR!!!!!!!!
The Tigers are not the ones who sacked and burned Lawrence!
Those were the pro-slavery folks!!!
Look, while I personally don’t engage in it, I understand talking shit about your collegiate rivals. It’s all supposed to be for the love of the game and the spirit of competition.
I get that there is this tendency to lean into the Civil War when talking about this rivalry. I lived it from the on-the-ground inside for four years. But to link it to 9/11 and then try to make a call for unity is atonal on a level I cannot even begin to properly describe. Especially when you then say you wanted to run up the score.
You, Drink, are the highest paid person in public service in the state of Missouri. You’re supposed to represent the institution to the best that you can. I don’t expect you to be a historian.
But I do expect you to have some fucking common sense and a basic understanding of things, and why referring to Bleeding Kansas—as a Tiger—is a stupid thing to say. And then to vaguely wave at 9/11 and our country’s current divided nature is just a stupid cherry on top of that shit sundae you created last night.
For me, it definitely takes away from a solid, hard-fought win.
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