What Really Happened on the Practice Field

The Clemson football program has been in the news the last 48 hours, and not for the best reasons.

The Clemson football program has been in the news the last 48 hours, and not for the best reasons.

Monday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media to address the return of his team, player statuses and, more importantly, the racial divide that the nation is facing after the killing of George Floyd.

Tuesday, things continued to spiral out of control. 

A day after Swinney's statement regarding the state of the nation was met with mixed reviews, former player Kenyon Tuttle took to Twitter to call out Swinney for allowing an assistant head coach and tight ends coach Danny Pearman to use n***** in a practice three years ago.

"Cap (slang for liar), you allowed a coach to call a player the N-word during practice with no repercussions. Not even a team apology. When we had the sit-in in front of sikes you suggested us players try to stay out of it to limit distractions. Stop protecting your brand, take a stand," Tuttle wrote.

Cap, you allowed a coach to call a player the N-word during practice with no repercussions. Not even a team apology. When we had the sit-in in front of sikes you suggested us players try to stay out of it to limit distractions. Stop protecting your brand, take a stand https://t.co/7gznXmyniI

— Tut (@_kinggtutt) June 2, 2020

Pearman released the following statement Tuesday night: 

“Three years ago on the practice field, I made a grave mistake involving D.J. Greenlee. I repeated a racial slur I overheard when trying to stop the word from being used on the practice field. What I overheard, I had no right to repeat.

While I did not direct the term at any player, I know there is no excuse for me using the language in any circumstance. I never should have repeated the phrase. It was wrong when I said it, and it is wrong today.

I apologized to D.J. at the conclusion of practice, who then appropriately raised his concern to Coach Swinney. Coach and I met to discuss the incident, and he reiterated that my language was unacceptable. I later apologized again as well as expressed my sincere regret to our position group the following day.

I love the young men who choose to come to our university, and I would never do anything to intentionally hurt them. I sincerely apologize to D.J., his family, our team and our staff.”

However, that did nothing to slow the outrage from national media.

With people calling for Swinney to resign, issue his own statement, calling him a racist and questioning how he gets African-American players to continue to come to Clemson, to say that Tuesday was not a great day would be an understatement.

But this is where context can help the situation.

First, no one should ever use the n-word. Never. There is no circumstance where that word is acceptable.

However, there is always another side to the story — and to Swinney.

Former Clemson standout and current Tiger defensive assistant took to Twitter to defend his coach after the release of Tuttle's tweet.

"Those involved in the situation know this was false content. All in the program know Coach would never tolerate that happening. Coach didn't have to give u a job after YOU got kicked off the team but he did. For u to stab him in the back years later in this climate is pathetic," Brewer wrote.

Brewer continued, "I've known Coach Swinney and his family for over 13 years. You won't find a more genuinely loving heart for people and the development of his players both on and off the field than his. Don't allow headlines to skew your judgment of a good man. Not a racist bone in his body.'

Former Clemson defensive end and current Miami Dolphin Shaq Lawson took to Twitter to state his displeasure with the Pearman, but also his support for Swinney.

"Damn I always had that feeling about the same coach. Smh only f*** with you when make plays for them," Lawson wrote.

"Naw I never said Dabo. Dabo love me like one of his son," Lawson added.

Naw I never said Dabo . Dabo love me like one of his son.

— Shaq Lawson (@Shaq_Lawson90) June 3, 2020

While one thing is clear: Pearman did use the n-word, and that should never have happened.

Another thing is also clear: Dabo Swinney is not a racist. He loves his players like they are his own kids. He treats them like his own.

"You have to know when to love them and when to chew them," Swinney said last year. "They all need both. They all get both here. Every single one of them. Ask Deshaun Watson if I ever chewed his butt. Ask Travis Etienne. It took a while before I yelled at Trevor. I was so excited when I got the chance to yell at him. He didn't give us an opportunity for a while. I didn't have timeout in my house. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But we didn't have that. Swinney boys didn't have that. In a world, like we're in, we have a bunch of men and it's competitive. Iron sharpens iron. If you watch that, sparks fly. It's part of the world that we live in."