In public appearance at Liberty, Hugh Freeze expresses remorse for 'private sin'

In his first public appearance since resigning last July, former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze expressed remorse for what he called “private sin” that became public, apologized and said he wants to “finish well.”

Speaking Wednesday morning during a chapel service at Liberty University, Freeze told students his “world got rocked in 2017,” when the discovery of a call made to a female escort service led to his ouster for what Ole Miss officials termed a “pattern of personal misconduct.” The talk was streamed live on the school’s Facebook page.

“All the walls came crumbling down when what I thought was a private sin that I had struggled with, confessed to my wife to two of my friends in 2016, that I thought I was dealing with and was in my rear-view mirror, when it became public knowledge,” Freeze said.

Freeze did not address the NCAA violations that led to the discovery of the phone calls. The NCAA levied penalties on the football program including the addition of a second year to a bowl ban the school had self-imposed. Freeze was handed a two-game suspension for the 2018 season if he were a head coach; it doesn’t apply to an assistant coaching position or after next season.

Freeze focused only on his personal mistakes. He said when they became public, he questioned why but came to the conclusion it was so he would “experience true brokenness,” which he defined as “agreeing with God daily that’s anything outside the boundaries of following Him breaks his heart, and that brokenness leads you to obedience.” He said in the aftermath, he found his Christian faith was “a solid rock, solid foundation.”

“I had to say to people that I loved, ‘I am sorry, please forgive me,’ ” he said. “And today is really the first day I can tell the faith family, ‘I am sorry, please forgive me.’”

Jill Freeze and the couple’s pastor Chip Henderson also spoke and vouched for him. Jill Freeze said she forgave her husband because she knew “his heart. I know he’s gonna do whatever it takes to get right with God.”

Hugh Freeze did not address future career possibilities, saying only he wanted to move forward in his faith. He used an illustration involving Roy “Wrong Way” Riegels, an All-American at California who famously returned a fumble the wrong way during the 1929 Rose Bowl, leading to a safety that proved the difference in an 8-7 loss to Georgia Tech. Freeze imagined a halftime conversation between Riegels and his coach: “Hey Roy, you can’t do anything about the first half. It’s over. But you can finish well.” Freeze noted that Riegels was later inducted into the Rose Bowl’s hall of fame.

“I cannot control what people say, what people think, nor can you,” Freeze said. “But I can make up my mind. And my mind is set, it is settled. My eyes are clear. My heart is full. My feet are pointed forward and I am looking forward with thanksgiving to what God has for me and my family next, because of His great love and His great forgiveness.”

He added: “Jill and I just came today to share our story with you and to encourage you that by God’s grace and by God’s power we can finish well.”