Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney weighs in on Brian Kelly's injury report policy at LSU
CLEMSON — LSU football coach Brian Kelly recently instituted a policy of weekly injury reports similar to those required in the NFL. Kelly said he'd rather get accurate injury information out in the open rather than having people — particularly those interested in wagering on games — trying to get inside information from players or staffers.
He said it hasn't specifically happened at LSU, but he wants to be "proactive."
Some coaches try to keep injury news private in order to hold off opponents from gaining a tactical advantage. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was asked for his thoughts on such a policy, and he wasn't opposed.
"We used to do that every week," he said. "Then some people weren't doing it . . . I really haven't thought of it, to be honest with you. It's really not that big of a deal to me. I would be perfectly fine if everybody had to release it on Tuesday or Wednesday or whatever. I'm fine either way."
Kelly's new policy came in the wake of last week's news that seven current or former athletes from Iowa and Iowa State, including four football players, were charged with tampering with records related to a gambling investigation. The probe started in May, with more than 25 athletes among the 111 people investigated by state officials.
Whenever there's news that Clemson wants its players to learn from, "Uncle Dooley" — as Swinney affectionately called director of player personnel Mike Dooley — makes sure the team knows about it. This was one of those cases.
"Anytime something happens, that's something we always do," Swinney said Wednesday. "Whether it's college football or pro football or just something stupid in the world going on, we send that to our players . . . We all learn from our own experiences, whether they're good or bad mistakes, whatever, but wise people learn from others' mistakes and successes."
Sports gambling has been a hot topic in college sports this summer, with Alabama firing its baseball coach in May amid an investigation into a suspicious bet placed on one of the Crimson Tide's games. Then came the Iowa investigation.
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Swinney said the staff has talked "a lot" with players about the issue of sports betting. There are currently no legal forms of sports betting in South Carolina, and NCAA rules prohibit coaches, players and staffers from betting on any NCAA sanctioned sport.
"If you gamble, you're going to be done," Swinney said. "You can't gamble on college sports. Just can't do it. It's really a pretty straightforward message."
Christina Long covers the Clemson Tigers for the Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@greenvillenews.com.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football's Dabo Swinney considers Brian Kelly's LSU injury report policy
