Everything Clemson’s Dabo Swinney had to say about his ACC fines for his comments on refs

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The ACC has fined Clemson $10,000 and issued a public reprimand to head coach Dabo Swinney following his postgame remarks about officiating after Saturday’s 46-45 loss to Duke at Memorial Stadium. The league cited Swinney for violating its sportsmanship policy, which prohibits public criticism or evaluation of officials.

Swinney didn’t back down from his comments when asked about the reprimand on Sunday night, saying he still stood by his stance regarding the controversial pass interference call that extended Duke’s final drive. “I just stand by what I said,” Swinney remarked. “We just have to agree to disagree. There’s a lot of accountability for coaches and players, but I don’t think there’s much for refs. There should be a way to challenge a call like that, especially one that changes the game.”

The fourth-down flag on cornerback Avieon Terrell gave Duke new life inside Clemson’s 5-yard line, and the Blue Devils scored moments later before adding the go-ahead two-point conversion. While Swinney said he doesn’t believe that single call determined the outcome, he emphasized his frustration over the lack of official accountability. “That play could’ve sealed the win for our guys,” he said. “It’s disappointing, but I’m not going to blame that for the loss.”

During his weekly radio show Monday, Swinney was asked about another late-game flag — an offensive pass interference call against Clemson — and couldn’t help but note the irony. “That’s one they actually agreed with us on,” he said. “They disagreed with our thoughts on the other one, but they agreed with that. Pretty big call when you need a field goal. I was probably close to a 15-yard penalty at that point. Instead, I got 10 grand. Thinking about mailing 10,000 pennies.”

Swinney, who said this was his first fine from the conference, took it in stride but made clear he hasn’t changed his opinion. “I thought I handled it like a gentleman,” he joked. “Guess I crossed a line somewhere. Whatever — it is what it is. Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree.”

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Dabo Swinney’s comments on being fined by the ACC for the first time

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