Swinney worried about his players, not fans who did not like helmet decals
By: will-vandervort September 13, 2020

Last week, Trevor Lawrence, Darien Rencher and other Clemson football players hinted there was some things they were going to do to as a team to express themselves when it came to racial equality, as part of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

They expressed themselves in Saturday’s win over Wake Forest by placing helmet decals on the back of their helmets. Each player put a different sticker on their helmet, picking from one of these four stickers Love, Black Lives Matter “Put a Stop To Racism”, Equality and Black Lives Matter. Their goal is to create awareness and healthy conversation.

The decals debuted on Clemson’s social media platforms a couple of hours before the Tigers kicked off in Winston-Salem, N.C. However, it was not received well by all Clemson fans, and they caused somewhat of a stir amongst the fan base.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about the decals during his Sunday teleconference call with the media. He said the NCAA changed its rulings over the summer in response to all that has occurred in relation to the Black Lives Matter Movement and all that has gone on in the country over the last three and a half months.

“Listen, I support my guys. I mean, not everybody is going to think the same, and that is never going to be the case,” Swinney said. “But these are young people that have been challenged with a lot of things. They are developing young people. They came up with several different things. They got together, as a team, on what they wanted to do, just like all the teams are doing.”

Swinney said he is proud of how his players have handled all that is going and the way they have navigated themselves through it all.

“Again, there is always going to be disappointment,” Swinney said. “Nobody is ever going to fully agree on certain things, but hopefully, people can respect our young men and what they believe in and what their different causes are that they want to bring awareness to or support or whatever that may be through whatever platforms have been made available to them.”

–photo courtesy Clemson Athletic Communications 

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