In the aftermath of a spate of fiery incidents following rivalry game road wins, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is taking a stand against what he sees as a burgeoning scourge in college football – the practice of planting flags at midfield to celebrate victories on enemy turf.
Swinney found himself in the thick of a postgame fracas on Saturday after the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks upset his Tigers 17-14 at Death Valley and then proceeded to plant their flag at the 50-yard line. The two-time national championship winning coach described the scene as “dangerous” and vowed to work with South Carolina coach Shane Beamer to “make sure that doesn’t happen anymore.”
A Disturbing Trend Emerging?
The Clemson-South Carolina dust-up was hardly an isolated incident on rivalry weekend. Similar postgame melees erupted following Michigan’s win at Ohio State, where authorities had to deploy pepper spray to restore order, as well as after NC State’s victory at North Carolina and Florida’s triumph at Florida State.
Zooming with media on Sunday to preview the upcoming ACC Championship Game against SMU, Swinney took the opportunity to condemn these fiery flag planting episodes as “a bad look for college football.”
I was dead in the middle of it and lucky to get out alive. It was scary, and it was dangerous, and we’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen anymore.
– Dabo Swinney on the flag planting fracas after South Carolina’s upset win at Clemson
Part of what made the scene especially perilous, Swinney noted, is Clemson’s “Gathering at the Paw” tradition that welcomes fans onto the field after every game. “There were more than coaches and players involved,” he said. “People could have gotten hurt.”
Calling for Cooler Heads
While emphasizing the importance of good sportsmanship and not being hypocritical on the issue, Swinney admitted to being disappointed last year when one of his own players planted the Clemson flag at midfield following a road win over the Gamecocks.
Looking ahead, he said he plans to speak with Coach Beamer to establish a gentlemen’s agreement that flag planting will no longer be part of their heated Palmetto Bowl rivalry moving forward. “It just shouldn’t happen,” Swinney stated. “Shane and I both got to do a better job in that, and we will.”
Let’s win the game, let’s celebrate with our team, shake hands, and let’s move on. That’s what we need to do.
– Dabo Swinney on his preferred postgame protocol
A Teachable Moment
In Swinney’s view, the rash of flag planting incidents offers an opportunity for the sport of college football to do some soul searching and learn some valuable lessons. “There’s a lot everybody across college football can learn from yesterday,” he remarked, “because that was a bad look for college football.”
Whether other programs and conferences heed his call to stamp out postgame flag planting shenanigans remains to be seen. There’s no denying the raw passion and school pride that fuels these acts when emotions are running high after huge rivalry wins. But if more ugly scenes unfold, momentum may grow for new rules and sportsmanship protocols.
For his part, Swinney knows he has more pressing matters to attend to, like preparing his Tigers for their clash with the high-powered SMU offense in the ACC title tilt. A win there could punch Clemson’s ticket to the College Football Playoff for the sixth straight season.
Flag planting fallout aside, it’s full steam ahead for Dabo and company. But don’t be surprised if this topic continues to spark debate long after the last down is played in 2024. In a sport where passions run deep and traditions die hard, change doesn’t always come easy – even when respected voices like Swinney advocate for it.
