Dabo Swinney Accuses Florida State of Faking Coronavirus Concerns to Avoid Playing Clemson
Dabo Swinney was not in the best mood on Sunday. Clemson's matchup against Florida State was canceled on Saturday just a few hours before kickoff due to COVID-19 concerns. Swinney is furious his team didn't get to play and accused Florida State of faking coronavirus concerns to avoid playing the No. 4-ranked Tigers.
In the hours before the game Florida State officials learned a Clemson backup offensive lineman had tested positive for COVID-19. While the player had symptoms earlier in the week, Swinney allowed him to continue practicing because he had yet to test positive. He also traveled with the team. Frankly, that's a valid concern from Florida State. A symptomatic player should have been isolated from the start.
Here's a string of updates from Swinney's teleconference on Sunday:
Dabo Swinney is really upset: "This game was not canceled because of COVID. COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game." Says FSU administration forfeited the game. If FSU wants to play Clemson, they can home to Death Valley, he says. Or they can pay for Clemson's travel.
— Grace Raynor (@gmraynor) November 22, 2020
Dabo: "This game was not canceled because of COVID. COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game. … To me, the Florida State administration forfeited the game."
— ??️♈️? (@ADavidHaleJoint) November 22, 2020
Swinney, “We should have played. We’ve mitigated everything all year long. This game was not canceled because of COVID. COVID was an excuse to cancel the game."
— Clemson Sports (@ClemsonSports) November 22, 2020
Dabo Swinney, "To me the Florida State administration forfeited the game. If they wanna play Clemson, they can come to Clemson and they can pay for all expenses.”
— Clemson Sports (@ClemsonSports) November 22, 2020
Dabo Swinney on if FSU was concerned about COVID-19: “If that was their worry, they shouldn’t have even played this season."
— Clemson Sports (@ClemsonSports) November 22, 2020
Wow. That's just a horrible look for Swinney. Even if he truly believes this he shouldn't have said it. He's the one who screwed up and allowed a symptomatic player to practice and travel.