Clemson coach needlessly berated punter
My husband and I were thrilled to watch the Clemson football team win the ACC Championship on Saturday. We were not so thrilled to see Head Coach Dabo Swinney repeatedly berate the young punter who attempted to run versus kick the ball following failure of the Tigers to convert on a third down.
Clearly the young kicker made an error in judgment deserving a reprimand by the coach; however, Swinney went way beyond admonishing the young player for the error. The coach yelled and screamed at the punter 3-4 times during the game and mentioned the error again in post-game interviews even though Clemson won the game.
How disappointing to see the adult leader of a college team demonstrate behavior indicating the value of team members means far less than winning the game. Pitiful, absolutely pitiful; the punter deserves a public apology from Swinney.
Patricia Thrailkill, Myrtle Beach
This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 9:39 AM with the headline "Clemson coach needlessly berated punter."