Dabo Swinney responds to criticism from HBO's John Oliver
John Oliver's vicious takedown of the NCAA on HBO's Last Week Tonight has been viewed 3.2 million times on YouTube, but Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney hasn't seen it.
After Oliver played a clip of Swinney saying college athletes shouldn't be paid "because there's enough entitlement in this world as it is," Oliver pointed out that Swinney's name is an anagram for "soybean wind," adding that Swinney "seems about as pleasant as an edamame fart."
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Soybean Wind Swinney responded to Oliver in an interview with the Sporting News published Monday.
“Well, I don’t have HBO,” Swinney told the Sporting News. “I never saw the segment. I have no idea who John Oliver is, and a lot of that stuff goes in one ear and out the other. I was made aware of it, but that comes with the territory when you aren’t afraid to speak out and other people disagree with you.”
Swinney then reiterated the old pro-NCAA point that student-athletes are receiving a free education. Cool. But athletes' demanding practice and workout schedules often leave them without time for their studies, and some get shepherded into meaningless "classes" devoid of any educational value.
He also said that he “didn’t get into coaching to make money.” He'll make $3.3 million this year.
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- Dan Gartland
