It has been a bad week for the Clemson Tigers, especially their head coach, Dabo Swinney. Saturday night, his team not only lost to the Miami Hurricanes 28-20 but something he said out of the blue also put him in a deep trench with the college football world, drawing the attention of the spectators all around.

Clemson’s double-overtime loss to Miami has stirred a mixture of emotions, but it was the Tigers head coach’s remark that seemed to give rise to the critical comments surrounding them. The words aimed at the sports psychologist of the team seemed to not sit well with everyone around along with grabbing attention for its insensitivity.

Dabo Swinney utters insensitive comment on mental health 

The internet has gone ablaze with one single sentence from Dabo Swinney during a press conference. Dov Kleiman posted on Twitter, “From last night: #Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was asked if the team has a sports psychologist. Swinney: “We’ve got one. He’s probably on suicide watch right now.“

The comment immediately gained the displeasure of the audience, gaining comments on how insensitive and unbothered the coach sounded regarding the severity of mental health issues. His remark made the concerns of the team and the players sound rather unimportant in a sense, thus not sitting well with the NCAA world.

This line came forward post the defeat the Tigers faced in their latest match. Hard Rock Stadium had been hard on the Clemson Tigers as they lost to the Hurricanes. The Tigers handed the ball to Miami three times and fumbled four times. The game’s result is a big celebration for Miami, who haven’t beaten Clemson since 2010. 

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Coach Swinney said, “This is a helluva season that we’re in the middle of right now, and it’s disappointing as crap because we have a really good team.” After the crushing defeat, Swinney asked if there was any team’s sports psychologist to oversee players during losses. He replied that they have one, meaning Dr. Milt Lowder.  

Swinney’s suicide watch backlashes on him

Needless to say, Dabo Swinney’s “suicide watch” remark earned him lots of criticism from fans and players alike. Users took to Twitter to slam Swinney’s comment, stating that it’s insensitive towards the college sports’ mental health issues. The head coach accepted his mistake and apologized promptly, stating, “That was such a poor attempt at humor on my part, and just a really bad choice of words in a bad moment and certainly not something I should say. And I absolutely apologize for that.“

In 2022, at least five college sports athletes died by suicide, according to a report by CBS Sports. The report stated that college players in the nation are experiencing more mental health concerns, anxiety, and depression than they reported in surveys conducted before the covid-19 pandemic gook hold in 2020. Swinney stated further, “We are very deliberate in what we do around here in prioritizing mental health for our (student-athletes). Apologize for (the joke), for sure.“

The Clemson Tigers will be facing the NC State Wolfpack in their Week 8 matchup. It’s going to be a thrilling game as Swinney’s team can recoup the winning history if they win the game. Be sure to be a spectator of Saturday night’s game at 2 p.m. at Finley Stadium in Raleigh. 

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