Dabo Swinney responds to Clemson locker-room boxing video
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Last week, a video surfaced showing two Clemson players engaging in a boxing match in the locker room.
The video made the rounds on the internet and drew negative attention to the Clemson program, especially in the wake of an upset loss to Syracuse.
On Tuesday, coach Dabo Swinney responded to the video, saying he’s talked to his players and it won’t happen again (via The State):
“We had a couple walk-ons in there with a little too much time on their hands. We all have raised kids. And so sometimes young people have a little too much time on their hands and they do stupid stuff. And you’ve got a pair of boxing gloves laying around, next thing you know, you’ve got a boxing match going on,” Swinney said.
“You’ve got a mat on the ground, sometimes boys especially will start wrestling and goofing off. It’s been going on forever and ever and ever… It’s just somebody got a video of it and put it out.”
He added that he wants the Clemson locker room treated better than a frat house moving forward:
“It was brought to my attention and obviously it was something we won’t tolerate that,” Swinney said. “We’re not 10 years old. We’re not eight. We’re grown men… It’s not a frat house. It’s not a romper room. And so that’s kind of what I told them. This is a new house. It’s really nice. And that locker room is not a romper room. This ain’t kindergarten. And so yeah, I don’t think you’re going to have any more problems with that.”
As Clemson prepares for a game against Georgia Tech on Saturday, this distraction is the last thing Swinney needs.
For now, though, it seems to have been put to rest.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
