Lane Kiffin expresses disappointment over Joey Chestnut's ban from this year's 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has expressed his disappointment surrounding this year's edition of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Patrick Bertoletti won the 2024 contest, but it did not feature one man who has been associated with this contest for years.
Kiffin was disappointed that 16-time champion Joey Chestnut was banned from entering this year's competition. He posted about it on X (formerly Twitter), sharing a picture of a television with Chestnut on it:
"😢😢😢 no 🐐"
Joey Chestnut has won every Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest bar one since 2007. He is also known for his rivalry with Takeru Kobayashi, another competitive eater whose techniques changed the sport forever and made competitive eating more well-known to the public.
In the competition, he has set the world record for eating as many hotdogs in 10 minutes, which stands at 76.
Chestnut was preparing to defend his title again in this year's competition, but he was banned from the contest.
Why was Joey Chestnut banned?
Joey Chestnut was banned from competing in Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest because of a sponsorship deal he signed with Impossible Foods, a plant-based food company.
This appeared to annoy those in charge of the Hot Dog Eating Contest, as well as Major League Eating (the organization that runs many competitive eating competitions that Chestnut has been part of in the past). Their annoyance came from Chestnut's decision to advertise a rival company and not to advertise Nathan's, who have an exclusive sponsorship deal for the event.
In a statement, MLE justified their banning of Chestnut:
“For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions. However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship.”
In response to his banning, Chestnut said:
“I love competing in that event. I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the Fourth, and I have been training to defend my title, (the decision will) deprive the great fans of the holiday’s usual joy and entertainment.”
The deprivation of joy that Chestnut has referred to may have been felt today in the home of Lane Kiffin, who was watching the event.
The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is a uniquely American phenomenon and has become, for many people, a key part of Independence Day celebrations.
Lane Kiffin's response to a Chestnut-less event was likely to have been echoed by many Americans who wanted to see one of the best in history perform.