Mike Bianchi: Clemson coach Dabo Swinney makes a fool of himself by accusing FSU of being COVID cowards

In the wake of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney accusing the Florida State Seminoles of being chickens, who would have blamed FSU for retaliating and accusing Swinney of being an even more objectionable farm animal?

A jackass.

But the Seminoles, to their credit, decided to take the high road despite Swinney’s ridiculous remarks that have incredibly put FSU on the defensive for doing the right thing.

Swinney, in one of the most incredibly irresponsible comments a coach could make amid this COVID-19 crisis, essentially accused struggling Florida State of ducking his No. 4-ranked Clemson Tigers on Saturday. Why? Because FSU had the audacity to abruptly postpone the game Saturday morning when the Seminoles learned that a COVID-positive Clemson player had traveled to the game with his team, potentially infecting the entire Clemson roster, which could have then potentially infected the entire Florida State roster.

How dare FSU put safety first and refuse to roll the dice with their players’ well-being!

“This game was not canceled because of COVID,” Swinney complained. “COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game. I have no doubt their players wanted to play and would have played. And same with the coaches. To me, the Florida State administration forfeited the game.”

Give that man the national championship for stupidity.

Really, Dabo?

Seriously?

You sound like some Twitter troll with the handle “@TigerPawTommy” rather than a respected football coach at a reputable institution of higher learning.

Swinney’s comment might be even dumber than when former LSU athletic director Joe Alleva accused the Florida Gators of ducking the Tigers when the Gators postponed a game against LSU with a Category 4 hurricane bearing down on the state of Florida.

Where do we start with Swinney’s stupid, sophomoric comments?

How about with this obvious question: Hey, Dabo, how is it Florida State’s fault that you traveled to Tallahassee with a COVID-positive player who had actually shown symptoms and was allowed to practice with your team all week?

Swinney said the unidentified player, a backup offensive lineman, showed minor symptoms early in the week but continued to test negative and was allowed to practice with the team. By the time the team flew to Tallahassee on Friday, the player was no longer showing symptoms and was allowed to travel with the team to Tallahassee. But once the Tigers arrived, test results showed that the player was positive for the virus.

Even so, Swinney wrongly insisted that Clemson “met the standard to play.” Actually, Dabo, you didn’t meet the standard. You didn’t meet Florida State’s standard, which obviously is higher than Clemson’s standard.

FSU coach Mike Norvell, who himself tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this season, said the Seminoles twice have held back players and coaches from practicing and traveling with the team because they had displayed symptoms but had not tested positive. Norvell pointed out Monday during a video conference with reporters that the decision to postpone the game on Saturday was not made by coaches or administrators; it was made by FSU’s medical staff — as it should have been. In the process, Norvell took a backhanded shot at Swinney’s infantile implication that FSU was somehow scared to play Clemson.

“Coaches are not doctors,” Norvell said. “This decision was made by medical advisers, professionals that received the information Friday night from Clemson. And there was concern. The fact that a symptomatic player participated throughout the course of the week and made the trip to Tallahassee raised a lot of concerns.

“If other schools elect to practice symptomatic players, they can do that (if that’s what they choose to do),” Norvell added. “But when it comes to the well-being of our student athletics … we are going to make sure they are protected and we have done everything in our power to keep them away from the risk of the most highly transmittable virus that we’ve seen in my lifetime. We made a decision that was in the best interest of our student-athletes and their well-being. I’m not concerned about what any other coach says or thinks.”

Bravo, Coach Norvell.

Dabo Swinney should trade in one of his national championship rings for some of your common sense.

For Swinney to suggest that FSU was running scared is a sad example of an old-school, Neanderthal college football coach who has lost all sense of perspective. Not only that, it makes no logical or financial sense. The Seminoles have been getting blown out all season long; what would it matter if Clemson administered yet another beatdown to Norvell’s beleaguered team? Especially when this was the biggest moneymaking game of the year for an FSU athletic department that was mired in major debt even before the pandemic struck.

By not playing Saturday’s game against Clemson, the Seminoles lost an estimated $1.5 million, including $1.25 million in ticket revenue alone. Not only that, but it was FSU’s “Donor Recognition Weekend,” whereby many of the school’s richest boosters were in town to be wined and dined during the Clemson game.

Of course, Clemson’s coach probably didn’t know any of this when he decided to open his mouth and start spewing nonsense.

In the midst of a deadly pandemic, you would think Dabo Swinney, a man of immense faith, would show just a little grace.

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