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Clemson holding back more hardware: Suspended Tigers have not been given national championship rings
By SDS Staff
Published:
Clemson is apparently really serious about who does and does not deserve a national championship ring.
When Dabo Swinney came out and said Kelly Bryant would not be getting a title ring, many melted down this week. The discussion turned into a national discussion, for some reason, following these comments from the Clemson coach.
“[Bryant] wasn’t on the team. You’ve gotta be on the team to get a ring,” Swinney told ESPN. “I love Kelly and appreciate what he did for us, but he decided to move on.”
Why this became such a big deal is unclear but Bryant came out on Friday and said he doesn’t even care about the ring. That fact hasn’t stopped this story from developing, however, as the three players (Dexter Lawrence and Zach Giella, and Braden Galloway) that were suspended for the championship game after failing tests for PEDs have not been given championship rings according to Matt Connolly of The State.
Per NCAA rules, “awards for participation in special events may be provided only to student-athletes eligible to participate in the competition.”
This could be a tricky situation for Clemson, however, as the substance that caused the three players to fail the drug test allegedly came from Clemson. How these players can be denied for unknowingly taking something given to them by the program would be a tough argument for anyone to make.
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
