Dabo Swinney furious over Clemson-FSU postponement, calls out Noles administration
Three hours before Saturday’s ACC game between Clemson and Florida State, the conference postponed the game.
At the time, the ACC’s wording on the postponement was quite odd, as the 2 medical staffs couldn’t agree on playing.
“The postponement follows this morning’s game conference call at which time both teams’ medical personnel were unable to mutually agree on moving forward with the game,” the statement read.
Later, details emerged that Clemson had a player who tested positive late in the week who traveled to Tallahassee for the game, and FSU wasn’t comfortable with playing. Clemson, however, maintained that it adhered to protocol in order to play the game safely.
Still, FSU didn’t want to play.
Clemson’s athletic director Dan Radakovich released a statement, but Dabo Swinney stayed mum … until now.
During Swinney’s Sunday night teleconference, he blistered FSU, saying, “This game wasn’t canceled because of COVID. COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game.”
Swinney also added that if FSU wants to make up the game then they will have to either pay for Clemson’s travel again or play in Death Valley.
Here’s the full audio on Swinney’s comments:
Dabo Swinney was straight to the point in his Sunday teleconference saying that, "This game was not cancelled because of COVID, COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game. To me the Florida St. administration forfeited the game."
Listen here:@WSPA7 pic.twitter.com/1PSsS5KCps— Todd Summers (@ToddSummers7) November 22, 2020
Those are certainly some strong words and consider that “shots fired” from Swinney.
It’s unclear when or if the game will be made up.
Can you blame FSU for using it an excuse? They didn’t want to get destroyed on national TV and keep throwing matches on the dumpster fire.
We have tried to tell you for years about what the Seminoles are and you didn’t listen. Even their porn star fan girl jumped off the bandwagon. Mia Khalifa.
Umm, Florida fans shouldn’t talk. Not after using the covid card. In order to take a 3 week vacation and refuse to play LSU. During a time when Florida had just lost to A&M!!! All just to get rest. So that when the cocktail party was played. Florida would be well rested and healthy. While UGA got no such vacation time and played the game with hardly a starter on defense and the #1 WR we have not playing. And with our 5TH STRING QB PLAYING AS QB1!!!!!
Be happy you didn’t face UGA at full strength. And be real happy that you got Stetson Bennett instead of JT Daniels!!! Just imagine if he had been playing since week 2 and learning. Like I said. Be happy because he would have roasted your defense!!!!
PS. I wonder where all the doubters in the media are? Because if UGA had a better QB than Bennett. They would be on the field, right? WRONG!!!!! I TOLD ALL OF YOU AND I WAS RIGHT LIKE ALWAYS!!!!
King Negan
44-28 chump
Oh and you were a 24.5 point favorite over a 2-4 Miss State. You won by SEVEN (7) hahahahah
negan, Bama played your team at full strength and Mac lit up your defense. 41-24 chump.
You are truly nuts.
Sounds like LSU and Ed O
Covid is not a joke!!! They had nothing to lose this year as far as the game goes. But their health is a different story.
He should be more upset at himself for playing in the ACC where there is no competition. The one team that is not even in the ACC (except for this year) beat them. They get to enter the playoffs every year fresh and healthy after playing cupcakes all year.
I bet you have been beat by what you call cupcakes before
If what they claim is in fact true, and with Dabo’s whiny azz I don’t doubt it one bit, then FSU shouldn’t have played them. If they traveled to Tallahassee with a Covid positive player traveling with them? Well that’s Clemson for you. And Dabo whining? Why is anyone surprised at that. That man would be whining and complaining if you hung him with a brand new rope.
Lol you beat me to the real point by 4 minutes!!!
Deafening silence about why it was safe to play against a team that “traveled” with a positive player. Swinney could have said 1) he flew in his own private aircraft, or on a bus by himself, or drove his own car. No, I didn’t hear any of that. In the absence of this clearly required explanation, we absolutely must drawn the conclusion that Swinney had no good reason for putting his team and the opponents in danger and maybe he shouldn’t be a head coach. Let me double down on this, when you f up, you shouldn’t call attention to it, by making a big stink about your opponents doing absolutely “nothing” incorrect. Now can we roll back the footage where Swinney admits on camera that his coaching staff might have been giving PEDs (Ostarine) to his entire roster. Can anybody explain to me how that big bowl game got played and zero NCAA punishment got handed down to Swinney and Clemson?…. But Missouri misses a bowl game because a tutor, who admitted she acted on her own, took tests for athletes, that Missouri threw out of school erased their transcripts. Shut up Swinney and please get Clemson out of NCAA football.
True…Datboi is the biggest whiner in college football. Clemson is so accustomed to winning big…that ACC Conference is so weak. But Clemson is not the team of the past 2-3 years…the “D” is young and the DB’s are not elite. The offense is loaded as usual.
I think everyone is missing the key point….why in God’s green earth did a player who tested positive earlier in the week travel to the game?!?!?!?
Keep your political crap to yourself rules are rules and protocols are set.
Clemson didn’t follow them.
I thought he was retested and it was negative.. like Saban
SEC it’s 3 negatives and you test back in. Is that what happened?
I don’t know what ACC protocol is.
Guess that could be the wording in article stating “Clemson adhered to the protocol to play the game safely”
Spotty journalism I suppose
There are conference-rules & then there are Dabo-rules.
Agree, I like Dabo but he needs to do the right thing. Respect for others. It’s just a ballgame…but your life is different.
KINGCRYBABY, why dont you go crawl back into your hole you’ve been hideing in for the past two weeks. Its been nice not hearing all your bullshi@. You’re a complete embarassment to your own fans. Maybe you should learn not to throwout all your nonsense predictions about other teams you have to be the worse at it.
Why was the player that tested positive be allowed to travel? Sounds like Dabo and staff made a huge mistake.
If FSU had a team that could complete, and playing this game could possibly get them to a high bowl with recruiting enhancements.
They would have played.
Instead, this game only offered embarrassment and ridicule. Along with the likely loss of recruiting candidates.
Good safe call by FSU.
Cowardly.
But smart
Clemson tested player on Friday. Got on the plane and flew to Tallahassee got word that X player tested positive for covid-19. FSU is scared, teams with less talent play better teams all the time and they do not forfeit. Hell anyone that plays Bama or Ohio St usual takes a beat down but at least they have the guts to play the game. I remember some of our 3-9 teams that took some A$$ whoopings to FSU but we showed up and give it our best.
Here’s the full story, kids. The player who tested positive (results came back on SATURDAY MORNING – Clemson left for Tally on Friday afternoon) did show symptoms earlier in the week, but he was tested MULTIPLE TIMES throughout the week and EVERY TIME his results were NEGATIVE – therefore he was allowed to travel with the team as he was testing negative and was asymptomatic at that time. BUT – out of an abundance of caution – he was isolated in the airplane, the bus and in the hotel – just to be safe. He did not have a roommate. There was no contact tracing to be done because he had no contact with anyone. Clemson did EVERYTHING BY THE BOOK, and even went above and beyond by renting a large event tent to have their Saturday morning breakfast in so that the players could be adequately distanced. They traveled in more than twice the number of buses they would ordinarily use. Players all wore high powered face masks AND face shields. There was nothing more Clemson could have done given the circumstances. They offered to test the entire team on Saturday and play Sat night, or Sunday or even Monday, but FSU would have nothing of it. They simply didn’t want to play and the COVID gave them a good way out. Simple as that.
02bnclem…Dabo still comes off as the true whiner that he is.
For standing up for his team and putting all the details out there? Clemson spent over $300,000 to get down to that game and for nothing. We presented options. FSU presented nothing. We did everything we could to make this game work. They simply didn’t want to play. This isn’t about the FSU team or staff – it’s about the FSU administration. They deserve to be called out. Call it whatever you will – he backs up his players and his team. Clemson did absolutely nothing to cause this cancellation/postponement. There was no medical reason for the game not to be played. FSU should definitely be called out for taking advantage of the situation to try to avoid a potential blow-out at home.