Dabo Swinney Marched With Clemson Players In A Social Justice Protest
Clemson Tigers’ head coach Dabo Swinney participated with his players in a social justice protest on Saturday. The march was put together by several players, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence, running back Darien Rencher, wide receiver Cornell Powell, and linebacker Mike Jones Jr.
The protest was carried out on campus and was a response to the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter demonstrations going on all over the country. Lawrence has been outspoken about his support for the Black Lives Matter movement since the protests started. Reportedly, Swinney hadn’t said anything publicly until weeks after his quarterback took to social media to voice his feelings.
Aaron Cheslock of Fox South Carolina was among the first to report on Twitter that Clemson’s head coach joined the march. Swinney gave a brief speech at the peaceful demonstration before it continued across campus.
#Clemson HC Dabo Swinney addresses the crowd at tonight’s peaceful demonstration. @foxcarolinanews pic.twitter.com/LLt7HAvAw3
— Aaron Cheslock (@AaronCheslock) June 13, 2020
Swinney’s comments included an admission that he might not have understood some of the issues when it came to race relations surrounding his team.
“I’m embarrassed to say that there’s things on this campus I didn’t really understand. I knew the basics but not the details. But I’ve learned and I’ve listened,” he said, according to Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report.
Swinney came under fire a few weeks back after Danny Greenlee, a former player alleged assistant coach Danny Pearman used a racial slur while addressing him. After the slur was made public, people around the program wanted Pearman to be fired, but he was retained instead.
After he made the decision to keep Pearman on staff, Swinney said he had some idea of a specific altercation that players referred to. In that situation, the head coach said he understood Pearman was echoing the slur back at Greenlee who had used it first. He said he understood what his assistant had done was wrong, but didn’t believe it was done out of malice or intended to be racist.
Swinney also drew criticism when he was spotted wearing a “Football Matters” T-shirt not long after the demonstrations started around the country. Some analysts in and around college football felt the shirt made it look like he was making light of the Black Lives Matter movement.
After the photo of him wearing the shirt surfaced online, he released a video trying to explain his feelings.
The march this weekend came amid a series of changes at Clemson University. The college removed the name of John C. Calhoun from one of its buildings. Calhoun, a Clemson alum, was a two-term vice president and congressman who once called slavery a “positive good.”
