Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney Refers to Martin Luther King and Bible to Lambast Colin Kaepernick

Dabo Swinney refers to Martin Luther King and the Bible for reasons why he feels Kaepernick is wrong for his protest against the National Anthem.

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Complex Original

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The latest public figure from the sports world to vocalize their disagreement with Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest is Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.

According to The Post and Courier, the No. 2-ranked Tigers coach went on an eight-minute tangent on Tuesday to detail why he feels Kaepernick is causing a distraction to his team by opting to kneel during the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at 49ers games. Swinney also spoke in depth about why he feels that America and the world overall is a lot better than people like Kaepernick perceive it to be. He even made references to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and how King's philosophy of peace helped change the world.

Swinney stated that although Kaepernick has the right to freely express himself, he should consider the attention that he's drawing that could cause division within the 49ers camp:

"I think everybody has the right to express himself in that regard. But I don’t think it’s good to be a distraction to your team. I don’t think it’s good to use the team as a platform. I totally disagree with that. Not his protest. But I just think there’s a right way to do things. I don’t think two wrongs make a right. Never have, never will. I think it just creates more divisiveness, more division.”

Swinney further explained himself, and referred to the philosophy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to contradict Kaepernick's stance about societal issues:

"I hate to see what's going on in our country. I really do. I think this is a good world. I think this is a great country. It's just that things get painted with a broad brush in this world these days. There's more good than bad in this world. With Martin Luther King. I don't know that there's ever been a better man or better leader. To me, he changed the world. He changed the world through love in the face of hate. He changed the world through peace in the face of violence. He changed the world through education in the face of ignorance. And he changed the world through Jesus. Boy, that's politically incorrect. That's what he did. It's amazing when we don't learn from our past how you can repeat your mistakes."

Well, Dr. King's Mahatma Gandhi-inspired teachings of civil disobedience per his organized sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement are in the same vein as Kaepernick not opting to kneel, right? According to Swinney, not at all.

And the coach's diatribe didn't stop there. He also touched on which two of Ten Commandments people should abide by in particular, and why we have so much confusion and disorder in the world.

"It says, 'Love the Lord with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul,'" Swinney said. "The second one is, 'love your neighbor as you'd love yourself.' It doesn't say love your neighbor from the same religion. It doesn't say love your neighbor if they're the same color as you. It doesn't say love your neighbor if they pull for the same team as you. It doesn't say love your neighbor if they're the same gender as you, or whatever. (It doesn't say) love your neighbor if they have the same sexuality as you. It just says, love your neighbor as you'd love yourself. If we all lived by that in this country, we wouldn't have near the problems we have."

 

 

 

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