Clemson’s football program has come under scrutiny by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, but head coach Dabo Swinney says players of all faiths are welcome in the program.
“Over the past week or two, there has been a lot of discussion of my faith,” Swinney wrote in the statement, as shared by The Post and Courier. “We have three rules in our program that everybody must follow: (1) players must go to class, (2) they must give a good effort and (3) they must be good citizens. It is as simple as that.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a complaint with Clemson and suggested Swinney was guilty of not fostering a culture with a separation of church and state. The public university already responded to the complaint publicly, stating the operation and management of the football program by Swinney adheres to the Constitution when it comes to separation of church and state. Still, Swinney wanted to have his say and he states a player’s faith or lack of faith is never an issue when it comes to putting together his football program.
“I have recruited and coached players of many different faiths,” Swinney said. “Players of any faith or no faith at all are welcome in our program. All we require in the recruitment of any player is that he must be a great player at his position, meet the academic requirements, and have good character.”
There likely will not be much that comes out of this story as far as Clemson and Swinney are concerned, especially since it appears no players have voiced any discomfort with the way the program is run as far as faith and religion is concerned.