Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney weighed in on the dramatic legal battle between the NCAA, the SEC and football players who were in NFL training camps that are now looking to play at LSU. Former NFL and Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright began practicing with LSU yesterday as he and several other athletes await a preliminary injunction hearing in Baton Rouge on Thursday. Swinney says the situation reflects the state of college football.
“Well, I’m at kind of a loss of words. I would just say it’s kind of embarrassing. I mean, honestly, it’s just embarrassing that that’s where we are. And I don’t blame the kids; some people are just trying to take advantage of the system. I just think it’s embarrassing where we are in college football,” Swinney said.
LSU is still the only school to publicly receive any commitments from former pro football players. The SEC and other Power Four conferences have all approved rules prohibiting schools from rostering them, but those policies have now become the target of lawsuits and restraining orders. Swinney says there is no governance.
“I mean, it’s a joke; there’s zero rules. And when you enforce rules, somebody just goes and finds a judge to say, ‘No, you can’t enforce that rule.’ So, never did I think I’d be living in an era like this, but that’s where we are,” Swinney opined.
Swinney says he is preparing to kick off the season in one of the toughest possible openers against LSU. He says he is trying to ignore any outside noise.
“I just keep my energy and my focus on, and my energy on the things that I control and the things that matter: That’s these kids here and our team. But, you know, all that outside stuff; I mean we just kind of, no pun intended, we just stay in our lane,” Swinney remarked.
LSU hosts Clemson Saturday at 6:30 pm.