Staff Report @ESPinSC
CLEMSON, SC -- Dabo Swinney started his Monday conference call by addressing the issues that have plagued our country for not just the past few days, but centuries.
Here is what Swinney had to say...
"I just felt like I wanted to express myself properly and also there's a couple things to talk about. But first and foremost, we are all hurting for the Floyd family, and our country."
"You know, I can speak for our entire staff and our team in that regard for sure. We have all witnessed just disgusting acts of evil. That's really the only word I can appropriately use."
"Over the past, you know, recent week here and beyond, but to address it, for me to really be able to address it....Everything, everything for me, goes back to my faith. That's where I draw my peace from. That's where I draw my hope from. That's where I draw my perspective from."
"You know, I'm glad I don't have social media because my reaction would've probably been to jump on social media and probably say things I shouldn't say and regret and I'm glad I don't have that."
"But what I know, as I approach everything from from a perspective of faith, is that that where there are people there's going to be hate, there's going to be racism and greed, jealousy, crime and so on. Because we live in a sinful fallen world."
"We've had so much bad news. Everywhere you turn. There's bad news. But really today, I just wanted to take a moment and and offer some good news and for me, the good news is that we have a Lord that loves us all, and he has conquered already, and we all have a choice as to how we think, how we love, how we respond, and how we forgive. There's no question that these are challenging times."
"But what I've learned is that where there is no challenge, there is no change. And we have to all accept the challenge."
"And we all have to help bring about positive change and growth. And as I talked to our staff this morning, the soil is fertile. And the seeds of this soil of change, if you will, are love, are respect, are attitude, kindness, humility, service, faith, and forgiveness."
"And you know what, forgiveness is always the hardest. Forgiveness is something that I struggled with in my life, into my teens and early 20s. Eventually, you know, I was the one being hurt because that forgiveness just eats at you."
"If you take the word faith, I can thank Todd Bates for this. If you take that word faith and you make it into an acronym...Forgiveness. Always. Is. The. Hardest. and it is."
But love, respect, attitude, kindness, humility, service, faith, and forgiveness, these are the choices that we control. We do control those choices."
"And there are three truths right now for sure, in this time. And this is another thing Coach Bates and I we're talking about and I agree..."
"Love doesn't see color, hate does. Hatred has no heart, love does."
"And as you know, football teams and just people in general...we have to stick together. We gotta respect each other and we gotta accept differences that do exist."
"And for me, you know, my focus is my team and the staff. And my prayer is that God will continue, as he has for the last 11 and a half years, that God will continue to use our program at Clemson to develop, to shape, to equip, to educate, and to raise up great men, through the game of football, that are going to go on into this world as great leaders and create wonderful change and bring love and wisdom to our country."
"That's my passion. That's our why. That's my focus."
"And one of the things that I always tell our team, and they've heard me say many times in regards to football, is that there is no hope for a better yesterday. There's no hope for a better last week. There's no hope for a better last year."
"But one of the one of the verses in the Bible that I've always hung on to for a long, long time and it has always comforted me when I needed it....that's Jeremiah 29:11. Verse says, 'For I know the plans I have for you, they're plans for good not disaster. Plans to give you a future and a hope.' For I know the plans I have for you. Plans for good, not disaster. Plans to give you a future and a hope."
"And while there may be no hope for a better yesterday, there is hope in the future. And when there's hope in the future, there's power in the present."
"And that power, for me, comes from my faith. It comes from the strength and the peace of knowing Jesus is on the throne. And that's, that's really all I can say."
"That's the only thing I can offer is my perspective of faith and hope that can be an encouragement. Our team is hurting. I communicated with them last week and our staff is amazing."
"We absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must come together."
"So I want to just share that and take a minute to let you hear that from me and make sure I articulated it the right way."
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