Dabo Swinney weighs in on Las Vegas shooting, social issues

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney took a break from talking football on Tuesday to comment on the recent Las Vegas shooting and other social issues.

Swinney has discussed the matters with his football team and shared his message with the media during his weekly news conference.

“We talk about everything in our program. There’s a lot going on in this world. Every day for us is a life-teaching moment,” he said. “The one thing I tell our guys, in my opinion, what the country wants, what a lot of people want in their life, we have right here.”

Swinney pointed out that Clemson has players, coaches and staff members with different backgrounds and races that come together to form a team that is a close-knit family.

“I see people that love each other. I see people that sometimes don’t get along, but then they put their arms around each other and they may disagree but they’re not disagreeable. I see people who serve others,” Swinney said. “Really that’s what people want. They want love, they want respect, they want communication, they want family. That’s what everybody wants.”

Swinney said he’s hopeful that the Clemson program is having an effect on its players that will one day lead to change in the world.

“We just are constantly – it never ends – using the game of football to build great men. … That are empowered to go out in this world. … Take it into your communities, take it into your churches, take it into your businesses, take it into your new locker rooms that you’re going to. Take that with you and be a change-agent, man. Create change,” Swinney said. “Maybe we look up down the road and we’ve got a governor. We’ve got a president. We’ve got a senator, we’ve got CEOs, we’ve got all these things and hopefully through just the little role that we have right here in Clemson, South Carolina, we can help bring some of what we have here and what I know we have here out into the world.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 6:51 PM.