Lane Kiffin was the object of Al Davis' firing, not the subject

Former Oakland Raiders receiver Tim Brown recently commented on Raiders' owner Al Davis firing youthful coach Lane Kiffin in mid season with much hullabaloo (ruckus, uproar).


"It's Al's ball, and he can play with whoever he wants to play with. And, if he chooses not to play with Lane anymore, that's just the way it's going to be."

Tim meant to say whomever. Both whoever and whomever are personal pronouns. With respect to case, how they work in sentences as subject or object, whomever is used in the objective case. In this instance, it would serve as the object of the preposition "with."

Observation on the idiomatic expression "play with..." Yes, Davis seems to play with his coaches more than his players seem to play for him.