Former Mississippi State defensive tackle Fabien Lovett announced Monday that he is transferring to Florida State.
Lovett entered the transfer portal on April 3, one day after being offended by a tweet from new Mississippi State coach Mike Leach.
Leach tweeted a meme displaying a woman knitting a noose for her husband after two weeks of quarantine. Lovett’s response was “wtf.”
Lovett’s father, Abdual, later told the Clarion-Ledger that he informed his son he should leave the program.
“I didn’t feel comfortable with my son being down there with a guy like that from a leadership standpoint — that you can just throw anything out there,” Abdual Lovett told the Jackson, Miss., newspaper. “I feel if he can do it, the kids are going to feel like they can do it.”
Fabien Lovett took the advice and considered his options. He tweeted a photo of himself in a Florida State uniform on Monday, saying “It’s OFFICIAL. #GONOLES”
Lovett reportedly also received interest from Florida, Michigan, Ole Miss, Oregon and Tennessee. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining and is expected to apply for an NCAA waiver that would allow him to play in 2020.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Lovett had 19 tackles and one sack while starting all 13 games last season.
Florida State also has a new coach, Mike Norvell, formerly of Memphis.
Lovett told Noles247, part of 247Sports, “I just feel comfortable and that’s where I want to be. I’m cool with (Mike) Norvell and he recruited me since high school. They’re a bunch of cool people.”
Leach later removed the offensive tweet and apologized, saying he “had no intention of offending anyone.” Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen weighed in and said the coach would receive opportunities to “expand his cultural awareness of Mississippi.”