Clemson’s Swinney cancels appearance with anti-gay marriage organization
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said Wednesday that he will not attend a Palmetto Family Council event next week in Columbia. Swinney canceled after a state Democratic leader protested his appearance because the organization opposes same-sex marriage.
“(A)fter much thought, in order to avoid a distraction for the team and the entire football program, I’ve decided it is in the best interests of all involved that I not attend the event,” Swinney said in a statement.
Swinney said he had no association with the Palmetto Family Council, which has named him its “South Carolina Family Champion of 2015,” inviting him to receive the award at a June 2 event.
“I had no idea that I was being invited into a political controversy,” Swinney said. “It was my understanding that the nomination and selection for this award was based on the work done by our All In Foundation, and the difference it is making in our community.”
Swinney said his participation in the event “has been perceived incorrectly as an endorsement of certain viewpoints and has entered the political arena.”
“I have been and continue to be very open about my personal beliefs,” said Swinney, an outspoken Christian. “However, I do not inject those beliefs or the work of the foundation into the political process.”
S.C. House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, said last week Swinney should not appear at the event for the conservative organization, which opposes same-sex marriage and abortions, and often aligns with Republicans.
In a statement, Palmetto Family Council board chairman Reese Boyd III said Wednesday “recent false attacks from some angry liberal leaders in South Carolina have cast doubt on our organization, who we are and what we stand for.”
Boyd said it was the organization’s intent to recognize Swinney’s accomplishments, “specifically the great work of his foundation, serving as a great role model and for the strong testimony of his personal relationship with Christ.”
Boyd said the group understands “Swinney’s reluctance to engage in, or respond to, petty political attacks, and we certainly appreciate his principled leadership on and off the field.”
The event, “Celebrating Families 2015,” will go on as scheduled, Boyd said.
Democrat Rutherford applauded Swinney’s leadership on “this very important issue,” adding it is a testament to his character.
“This is a sign of the significant progress the state of South Carolina has made with respect to tolerance and equal rights,” Rutherford said in a statement. “I hope others follow Coach Swinney’s lead in standing up to groups like the Palmetto Family Council who seek to make discrimination legal and acceptable.”
S.C. Equality, a gay rights organization, also applauded Swinney.
“Clemson students, alumni, faculty and staff come from all walks of life, and we rely on role models like Coach Swinney to show the world that South Carolina’s community leaders will not stand for intolerance and hate,” said Jeff Ayers, interim executive director of S.C. Equality.
In an interview last year, Swinney said he had gay teammates while a wide receiver at Alabama, according to a CBS Sports article.
“Those are personal decisions that people have to make,” Swinney said in the interview. “I mean everyone will be judged one day, but it’s not up to me to judge somebody.”
S.C. Republicans, who control the state House and Senate, said Wednesday they supported Swinney.
Gov. Nikki Haley, a Clemson graduate, knows Swinney well, said spokeswoman Chaney Adams. “He is a kind and generous man who does a great deal of good with his foundation in South Carolina, and that should be the focus as opposed to invitations he accepts or doesn’t.”
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, said Swinney’s decision was his personal choice, adding Rutherford had made too big of a deal out of the event.
State Rep. Gary Clary, R-Pickens, who graduated from Clemson in 1970, praised Swinney as a football coach and community member. “Coach Swinney is a man of great character and faith, and I know that he’s thought long and hard about this and prayed about the decision that he would make.”
South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner previously has spoken to the Family Council, according to its website.
The council recognized Tanner’s foundation for its work on behalf of “economically and medically disadvantaged” S.C. children, USC spokesman Wes Hickman said last week.
This story was originally published May 27, 2015 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Clemson’s Swinney cancels appearance with anti-gay marriage organization."