Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com
The ACC slapped Clemson coach Dabo Swinney with a public reprimand and hit the school with a $10,000 fine Sunday after he blasted officials following the Tigers’ heartbreaking 46-45 loss to Duke.
The punishment came after Swinney didn’t hold back about a controversial defensive pass interference call on fourth down during Duke’s game-winning drive. When asked about the ACC’s decision during Sunday’s teleconference, Swinney doubled down.
“No (comment), other than I just stand by what I said. It is what it is, you know,” Swinney said. “We just have to agree to disagree. There’s a lot of accountability for coaches and a lot of accountability for players, but I don’t think there’s much for refs.”
Swinney argued that plays like this should be reviewable.
“There should be some type of ability to challenge a call like that. It just was very, very frustrating. But, you know, again, as I said (Saturday) night, I don’t blame that on the loss. I mean, that play could have won the game, and it would have been great for those guys who have overcome so much crap to win the game. I can’t stand by what I said. We just had to agree to disagree.”
The controversial call happened when Duke quarterback Darian Mensah underthrew a pass on fourth down. What looked like a potential game-sealing interception for Clemson turned into a penalty when Blue Devils receiver Que’Sean Brown collided with Tigers defensive back Avieon Terrell.
Swinney was livid.
“I don’t even know what to say about the last call,” Swinney said after the game. “You all saw it. Shouldn’t have come down to that. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game, but that’s one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in a game ever in my entire coaching career. Ever. I don’t really know what else to say.”
Despite his frustration with the officials, Swinney acknowledged his team had other chances to win. “I don’t wanna make that a deal because we should’ve won the game. We had plenty of opportunities to win the game. But you fight your butt off, you scratch and claw to get in a situation like that. Then you have a call like that. Man, that’s just more salt in the wound.”
The ACC cited its Sportsmanship Policy in issuing the punishment. The policy clearly prohibits “public criticism of officials or public comments evaluating the officiating of particular contests” by anyone associated with athletic programs. Instead, complaints should be directed only to the Conference office — something Swinney clearly didn’t do before venting to the media.
