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Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has responded to an accusation of player mistreatment. He was called out by a former Tigers “Ring of Honor” member earlier this week.
The coach denied singling out said athlete, a transfer that planned on leaving the program after the Gator Bowl matchup against Kentucky.
Former Clemson All-American Terry Kinard took to Facebook on Tuesday claiming verbal abuse towards his son, Jaden, a walk-on player on the roster.
He says that Swinney “belittled” and “insulted” the reserve safety after he announced his intention to transfer.
Jaden Kinard has been a member of the Clemson football team since 2021 but is reportedly looking for more playing time elsewhere. The allegation began making its rounds on social media and message boards, spurning Swinney to address the situation.
He did so on Wednesday.
“We just had an accountability run, coach Batson schedules these runs all throughout the year,” the head coach explained. “Most of the teams didn’t have to run but one team did have to run several over and backs. There were about five or six guys who got their butts chewed out, and they earned it.”
He continued on to say, “Football at this level is not for everybody. The discipline, accountability, and toughness, it’s hard at this level.”
Terry Kinard was a member of the 1981 National Championship team, one of the reasons the initial comments held so much weight. Clemson insiders asked around about the alleged interaction, but no one reported seeing anything out of the ordinary take place.
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Kinard stands firm on his belief that there was mistreatment as he says he’s “no longer loyal” to Dabo Swinney and Clemson.
He has not publicly commented on the head coach’s response.