Speaking with reporters on Sunday following the cancellation of the Clemson-Florida State game that was to be played on Saturday, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney did not hide his frustration with the decision to not play the game. The move came after a Clemson player tested positive for COVID-19, though Swinney called the virus “just an excuse” for Florida State to avoid playing.
“This game was not canceled because of COVID. COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game,” Swinney said, per Grace Raynor of The Athletic. The Clemson coach said he considers the game a forfeit by Florida State administration.
The game was postponed following a positive test by a Clemson player on Friday. Both teams’ medical personnel were not able to come to an agreement on moving forward with the game. Clemson was made aware of the positive test after landing in Tallahassee, with the player who tested positive onboard the flight.
“The standard to cancel a game was not met,” Swinney said. “A guy testing positive on Friday does not cancel a game. I was on every committee call for months since March and that was never the case.”
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence tweeted the Tigers “were ready to play.” The school’s athletic director, Dan Radakovich, said Clemson made every effort to make the game work but was unable to find common ground with Florida State.
“We were willing to do whatever was necessary to play while in Tallahassee,” Radakovich said. “We feel we offered additional solutions to make it work.”
Swinney said Clemson would like to make up the game against Florida State, though for that to happen, the Seminoles would either have to travel to Clemson or pay for Clemson’s travel. Radakovich says the total cost of the trip was around $300,000, according to Raynor.
Clemson is scheduled to play Pittsburgh at home on Saturday, with the team’s regular-season finale set for Dec. 5 at Virginia Tech.
