Dabo Swinney Staying Silent While Trevor Lawrence Leads Sets a Strange Example

This past week, the return of professional sports leagues took a back seat to more important matters. George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, was killed in the custody of Derek Chauvin and three other Minneapolis police officers. Chauvin was seen on camera pressing his knee against Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes while he lay in the street pleading, "I can't breathe."

Many athletes of color have spoken out against this latest wrongful death of a black man at the mercy of law enforcement, and pleaded with their white colleagues to speak out against racial injustice.

That's what Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence did on Friday, as he posted two tweets offering his support to his teammates and the black community in their fight for racial equality. It's important to note that a full two days after Lawrence spoke out, we've yet to hear from his head coach, Dabo Swinney.

of note: trevor lawrence made a statement on this before dabo swinney. dabo can do or say what he wants, but this is noteworthy. players are noticing who is and isn't staying quiet right now.
— bomani (@bomani_jones) May 30, 2020

This is a strange example for Swinney to set, considering he's never shy about expressing his emotions to the media. Let's not forget that this is the very same coach who blasted those who criticized him for taking a vacation during the spread of the coronavirus in the United States this past April, and has gone out on the longest of limbs to caution against...the compensation of college athletes.

Yet once an important topic like racial discrimination pops up, Swinney is nowhere to be found. In fact, most prominent coaches and supposed leaders of men have been hiding in the shadows in silence instead of using their platform to speak out against racism. ACC rival Mack Brown made his thoughts clear.

The recent tragedies in Georgia and Minnesota are unacceptable. The violence has to stop. We talk about communication, trust and respect. There’s not much of that right now and it continues to tear us apart. Listen, learn, empathize. Let’s come together and change for the better.
— Mack Brown (@CoachMackBrown) May 29, 2020

So did Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, who brought up Floyd's death unprovoked during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show on Thursday.

Jim Harbaugh on with @richeisen: "I'm very upset about the George Floyd death. That's got me preoccupied today. Horrendous. I'm looking forward to there being an investigation and looking forward to charges. That's completely outrageous."
— Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23) May 28, 2020

Swinney should really take some lessons from Harbaugh here. No matter his coaching record, Harbaugh showed in a couple of minutes that he's more of a leader to his young team than Swinney. Heck, a 20-year-old quarterback showed more initiative!

This is all you need to know about the Clemson coach. Swinney's silence speaks major volumes.