I kind of blame Clemson for this as much as I do the ignorance of Brian Kelly, LSU, ESPN and the SEC homers out there.

During his appearance at SEC Media Days on Monday, LSU head coach Brian Kelly disrespected Clemson more than any coach has done ever before. He had the audacity to say they, being LSU, allow Clemson to borrow the moniker “Death Valley.”

“We still think we are ‘The Death Valley.’ They can use the name, too. We are letting them borrow it,” he said.

Whoa!

Can Brian Kelly be any more arrogant?

They are letting Clemson borrow the nickname, Death Valley.

Interesting.

How can you allow someone to borrow something that was never yours in the first place.

Brian Kelly needs to do his homework before making statements such as this. To be honest, I am surprised he said this considering what happened the last time he brought a team into “The Death Valley.”

I think the look on his face said it all.

I can only tell this story so many times on who is College Football’s Original Death Valley. And I am not going to do it again. However, here is the link to the story on who is College Football’s Original Death Valley.

It’s the story, due to its ties to the SEC, ESPN will likely never share on its regular networks or even the ACC Network for that matter. I first wrote this story in December of 2012, prior to Clemson playing LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-Bowl.

But Kelly’s, LSU’s and the SEC’s ignorance is Clemson’s fault. Clemson could have gotten out in front of this years ago, when LSU first started calling Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Death Valley.

There are several urban legends about how LSU came to nickname its stadium Death Valley, but the earliest account, which its own former coach, Paul Dietzel, debunked in the story link above, came in 1959. That’s nearly 15 years after Memorial Stadium in Clemson was nicknamed Death Valley by former Presbyterian College head coach Lonnie McMillian.

An LSU history book even credits Clemson with using the nickname first, which is also in the link above. And this is where Clemson is at fault.

When the media first started referring to LSU as Death Valley, which did not really take off until the late 1980s and early 90’s, Clemson could have got in front of this and staked claim to what was already its stadium’s nickname.

How exactly?

It could not trademark “Death Valley” because Death Valley is a desert, located in eastern California and Nevada. However, Clemson could, and still can, trademark the statement “College Football’s Original Death Valley.” And there is nothing LSU or anyone can do about it.

It’s well documented Clemson came first and Clemson lays rights to the claim. So, let’s end this dispute and get it done, Clemson. Then future arrogant coaches, like Brian Kelly, cannot say something as idiotic as he did on Monday.

And for the record, Coach Kelly, Clemson is allowing LSU to borrow the nickname, Death Valley.

—top photo by Jordan Godfree / Imagn Images