Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney silent amid George Floyd protests
Dabo Swinney will break his silence.
College football coaches across the country have shared messages throughout the weekend in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, but Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney has yet to publicly weigh in.
In a time when leadership is imperative and people with a platform to communicate a message of love, hope and necessary change, the Clemson football coach has not used his platform to share a public message. He will address the media at a Monday afternoon press conference as players begin to return to campus for voluntary activities next week.
Before this address, a quote attributed to Swinney was being circulated around social media over the weekend. There was no timestamp and people were believing this to be a new quote about the death of George Floyd and the protests that have erupted around the country. But it was from 2016.
“Love your neighbor as you’d love yourself, Swinney said in 2016 after the Colin Kaepernick protest. If we all lived by that in this country, we wouldn’t have near the problems we have.”
Some, such as ESPN commentator Bomani Jones, was critical of Swinney and the lack of a comment as the rest of his contemporaries in college football spoke out. Even if it was a PR statement, at least it wasn’t silence. And it’s that silence that has many believing that’s a problem.
Trevor Lawrence speaks out while Dabo Swinney remains silent.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence spoke out before Swinney or Clemson’s athletic director and university president.
I’m siding with my brothers that deal, and continuously deal, with things I will never experience. The injustice is clear.. and so is the hate. It can no longer be explained away. If you’re still “explaining” it - check your heart and ask why.
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) May 29, 2020
Clemson running back Travis Etienne backed what Lawrence tweeted.
https://twitter.com/swaggy_t1/status/1267137878540288002
While other coaches spoke up, Utah Jazz player Donovan Mitchell tweeted that silence speaks volumes, which was quote tweeted by Clemson defender Xavier Thomas with a series of exclamation marks. Read that into what you will.
Clemson’s Mike Jones, Jr. tweeted his appreciation for all the coaches who have spoken out.
https://twitter.com/_mjones24/status/1267270279081975818?s=20
The Clemson Athletics retweeted a video from Nike.
We are deeply saddened by the recent tragic events and the pain felt by so many across our country. We are listening, we care, we will be part of the change.pic.twitter.com/SWKGwJ7cQT
— Clemson Athletics (@ClemsonTigers) May 31, 2020
It’ll be interesting to hear what Swinney says at his Zoom presser later today and what he’ll say because his 2016 comments condemned the actions of Kaepernick and his kneeling down during the national anthem.
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) June 1, 2020
As CFB coaches across the country speak out about George Floyd’s death and racial injustice, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney has said nothing.
In 2016, he condemned Colin Kaepernick for protesting police brutality. pic.twitter.com/HiCqoZos8h
And the chord he struck during 2016 was not met well.
https://twitter.com/DanWolken/status/1267500445884395526/photo/1
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