FAU's Lane Kiffin Fined For Tweeting Meme Trolling Conference USA Refs

Florida Atlantic University head coach Lane Kiffin's bank account is $5,000 lighter.    

Stadium's Brett McMurphy reported Sunday that Kiffin has been fined that amount by Conference USA for "violating [the] league's sportsmanship policy" with a tweet depicting referees as blind:

Kiffin posted the meme Saturday following FAU's 36-31 loss to Marshall Friday night. His squad was called for nine penalties worth 90 yards in the game.

"I already made the decision I'm not going to get into officiating," Kiffin told reporters following the loss. "I don't know if we lose money in this conference—we probably do—and I don't have a lot anymore. I'm not going to lose any. I'm about to say what I want to say, but I'm not going to."

And then, Kiffin said exactly what he wanted to say. He apparently thought using a meme on Twitter was a way to work around getting fined, as he joked with a commenter:

Conference USA commissioner Judy MacLeod released a statement in which she said the organization has "an obligation to enforce our rules, including the prohibition of public criticism of officiating." 

MacLeod clearly considers Twitter to be just as public as a postgame press conference, and now Kiffin knows another boundary he shouldn't cross.