Recently Clemson Head FB Coach, Dabo Swinney
took exception to a text he received at home from a
reporter regarding his star, sophomore QB, Trevor
Lawrence. While it hasn’t been confirmed a report
circulated the day before that Lawrence had
undergone an MRI for a bruised shoulder in the
Texas A&M game. According to Greenville News
reporter Scott Keepfer, Coach Swinney was having
none of it:
“I don’t like people trying to create drama,” the Clemson coach said Wednesday evening. “There’s no drama on this team, so what do people want to do? They want to create drama.” Swinney would not confirm the MRI report. “No, I’m not confirming any of that and I don’t want anybody texting me anymore—If I want anybody to know our medical stuff , I’ll tell you. We will put it in an injury report.” Swinney continued: “If we did an MRI or we didn’t, that’s nobody’s business. We do MRI’s all the time. All the time. A guy gets a bruise on his knee, we do an MRI. A guy bruises his elbow, we do an MRI. It drives me crazy. There’s no drama on our team, so we just want to create some drama.”
Easy Gamecock and Georgia fans this is not a Clemson apologetics article. Set your rivalry, or any feelings you may have about Coach Swinney aside and take a constructive look at what happened. Whether it’s part gamesmanship, or not, Dabo was making a point and contrary to the story it wasn’t being made to the media. Dabo was making a point for his players and team. Great leaders don’t tolerate drama. They create winning cultures and if it can’t be corrected they will extract high drama people from their team and culture. Coach Swinney was sending a message to every single player on his team in that media report. It was
two-fold:
- I’ve got your back!
- ZERO drama in our pack.
Imagine playing for a high profile, winning coach who just told the media to get back and keep their hands off the culture. Every player on that team knew Swinney was making a statement about standing in the gap for them and what the Clemson FB culture is all about.
Monty Carter, Storyteller
WebSpeak Media 102 Trade Street
Greer, SC
Monty@WebSpeakMedia.com
864.414.5163
Images: Jon Barash/AP; Travis Bell
SidelineCarolina (Post & Courier)
