Dabo Swinney Says National Anthem Protests Are A Distraction
At a recent press conference Clemson Head Football Coach Dabo Swinney was asked about potentially disciplining his football players if they chose to participate in the increasing national anthem protests. Athletes all over the country have taken to the field to show their disgust over disparities in treatment in the American justice system by either kneeling or sitting during the national anthem. Sentiments on both sides of the issue are getting more difficult to hide because of the magnification provided by the spectacle of sport.
College football is back in full swing on college campuses across the country but instead basking in the hyped atmosphere in the first weeks of play, most American football fans are now steeped in the national anthem controversy. Sports fanaticism and fervent patriotism can be thoroughly intertwined, and many people are still trying to figure out ways in which to articulate their passionate position. Sometimes it can be difficult for us to understand how our emotions can influence what we might actually believe, but imagine the pressure of having to unpack all of that baggage in full view of the public. Enter one of college football’s most dynamic figures, Dabo Swinney, who after a narrow win over Troy State offered his two cents on the mounting protests by athletes.
Coach Swinney first equivocated. (His team typically doesn’t come out for the national anthem.) Then Dabo settled on the fact that he wouldn’t discipline his players if they participated. Finally, the Clemson football coach equivocated some more in a 3 minute, sermon-like, diatribe that has made the internet rounds and left some people scratching their heads. Coach Swinney was able to captivate both sides of the anthem protest argument by invoking the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and employing general principles gleaned from his personal Bible study. The value of his answer can be extolled as the latest great example of windbagging mainly because Coach Swinney appears to reverse himself several times. While a blowhard might be required to give an official statement as the leader of a college football team, his mind might not be totally made-up about the messages embodied by the Black Lives Matter movement. It easy to fall into the privilege trap of missing the point during the decision-making process and it was painful for some sports aficionados to watch Dabo trying to find solid ground while delivering his ambitious soliloquy.
Poor Dabo Swinney. Basking in the sunshine of his own wildly misguided self righteousness on a white sand beach of privilege.
— Sal Masekela (@SalMasekela) September 14, 2016
Maybe someone should tell him that at a quick glance, a good number of his players might be directly affected by a positive social change? The issue at the heart of the national anthem protest is the notion that not enough attention is being paid to the issue of race in the United States of America. Athletes are using their positions as a means to affect policy change in a peaceful manner drawing sharp contrast to other highly publicized demonstrations against police brutality. None of that seemed to matter to Dabo Swinney, who used his postgame interview to draw attention to the injustice of athletes using the teams that they play for as a platform for distraction. Obviously, this head football coach believes that the modern gladiators shouldn’t take any focus away from their games, although he did once mention Kaepernick — the trendsetter of the anthem protesters that has already crossed over into popular culture.
It probably never occurred to an entire country founded on rebellion, protesting, and agitation that there could be more effective methods to prod along sweeping changes that should have come a long time ago. Coach Swinney went on to explain that while he might personally agree with the right to protest, but not necessarily the protest itself, that there is a better way. In Swinney’s mind, the people protesting for the right to live without fear of being persecuted or being targeted unfairly by the law are wrongfully sowing division. Dabo Swinney doubles down on his thesis and the leader of the number 5 team in the country sounds pretty certain that Americans can be as united as a national championship playoff victor if would-be protesters just call a press conference instead. All of the national anthem protesters needn’t look any further than Dabo Swinney to see exactly what press conferences can accomplish.
[Featured Image by Rainier Ehrhardt/AP Images]
