Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program have come under the spotlight this past week over allegations of racist slurs in the locker room.
Two former players have accused Clemson coaches of using racial slurs. Former Tigers tight end D.J. Greenlee recently divulged that Clemson assistant Danny Pearman used a racial slur speaking to him during a 2017 practice. The coach has since apologized.
Then on Saturday, another player spoke out.
Dabo Swinney accused of using N-word in Clemson locker room
On Twitter, former Clemson player Haamid Williams claimed that Swinney used a racial slur in the locker room. In a series of messages from his Twitter account, he accused Swinney of having used the N-word in front of the team talking about music that was played in the locker room.
“If I say this and you weren’t in the room people are gonna think Im on hallucinating,” Williams tweeted. “We played music everyday before practice for obvious reasons. Mike Reed, new/prospective CB coach came to visit and he toured our locker room while we were listening to music.
“Dabo walked into the meeting room and said “I don’t want to walk in the locker room with guests/future coaches hearing n—a this n—a that in our house”. Some people just walked out of the team meeting room because they didn’t want to hear his s—. And that was it. Players told him to watch his language and chill out. Then we went to practice. I’ve seen interviews of players who walked out that day that said they still like Dabo in NFL interviews.”
Now one former player is coming to Swinney’s defense.
Former Clemson TE says Swinney never used racial slur
Former Clemson tight end Brandon Ford took to his Twitter account Sunday to say Swinney never used the racial slur during the conversation Williams referenced.
Swinney, of course, has also recently taken heat for wearing a shirt that said, “Football Matters.”
At a time when so many Americans are protesting police violence toward African-Americans, the shirt drew plenty of ire. One player, Trevor Lawrence, has rushed to Swinney’s defense.