Clemson coach would not discipline player for anthem protest

Dabo Swinney said he wouldn’t discipline a player for emulating San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has refused to stand for the national anthem this season as a protest against the oppression of blacks and other people of color.

Some players on other NFL teams and athletes in other sports have joined Kaepernick, despite criticism from teammates, coaches and fans.

Swinney thinks it’s an unwise decision because of the potential for distracting the team.

“I think it creates more divisiveness and more division,” he said Tuesday before launching into a lengthy response in which he quoted the Ten Commandments and alluded to the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Swinney said he believed Kaepernick’s intent was “very sincere.”

“I have total respect for Kaepernick,” Swinney said. “That’s his right. I don’t like his method.

“I’m saddened to see what’s going on in this country. I think there’s a better way. Call a press conference and everybody will show up. Express your feelings. Talk about it. Express yourself,” he said, alluding to King, who practiced nonviolent protest. “Go and be a part of things and protest them. I think that’s great. Everybody has that right, and I certainly respect that.”

Swinney said he encouraged expression and wouldn’t stifle a player whose point of view doesn’t track with the mainstream. When Clemson students last year voiced concerns over issues that created a racial rift in the campus community, some football players joined a peaceful sit-in on the steps of an administration building.

“I think everyone has a right to express themselves in that regard, but I don’t think it is good to be a distraction to your team,” he said. “I don’t think it is good to use the team as the platform.”

On several occasions, Swinneyhe has explained that religion, race, political affiliation and sexual preference aren’t factors he weighs when recruiting players.

Asked earlier Tuesday about the possibility that the ACC Championship game might be pulled from Charlotte because of North Carolina’s controversial transgender bathroom law, he shrugged.

“I don’t have any thoughts other than I hope we are in the championship,” he said. “We will go to Pluto and play, or wherever. Tell us where to show up and we’ll show up.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Clemson coach would not discipline player for anthem protest."