Florida football coach Dan Mullen, reporter Kassidy Hill have joking exchange about Christmas lights

A media zoom call turned into a humorous affair when UF coach Dan Mullen and reporter Kassidy Hill had words about Christmas lights.

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Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below.

One of the side effects of Zoom news conferences in this remote, COVID-19 era is that your home workspace shows up in the background.

So when Florida Gators coach Dan Mullen noticed something at the start of Saturday’s postgame news conference, he jokingly had to call out a holiday “violation.”

“Christmas lights are not allowed until the day after Thanksgiving,” he told beat reporter Kassidy Hill.

When Hill said the lights were up year around, Mullen interjected.

“If you had white twinklies, you could make your excuse and your argument, but those are definitely Christmas lights,” he said.

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He noted that Sirius/XM had been discussing holiday traditions for weeks and mentioned the Thanksgiving rule.

“Don’t tell me how to live my life, Dan,” Hill responded.

When it was Hill’s turn later for a question about No. 5 Florida’s 38-17 win against Vanderbilt, she joked that she thought about playing Christmas carols in the background.

“I do give you credit, though,” Mullen told her. “I have fallen in and I have asked (his wife) Meg, you know, when am I coming home to see the tree but she’s steadfast. ‘Not yet. Not until after Thanksgiving. We’ve got to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday first.’ “

“It’s 2020,” Hill responded. “We’ll take it where we can get it.”

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