If you’re calling Dabo Swinney a ‘used car salesman,’ you’re out of touch with reality
It’s being rehashed again for the thousandth time and it’s not going to stop any time soon: Dabo Swinney is apparently the worst person on the face of this planet.
If you look and read Twitter posts, it doesn’t take much time to find thousands upon thousands of people who love to take shots at Dabo Swinney. They’ve questioned his character, they’ve talked about how he only cares for himself and they claim to see ‘right through his act.’
One of the most intriguing phrases associated with Dabo Swinney from this group of people that the Clemson football coach has labeled ‘thumb gangsters‘ is that he is nothing more than a ‘used car salesman.’
If you’re calling Swinney a ‘used car salesman,’ we have news for you: You’re out of touch with reality.
Dabo Swinney is much more than what people sitting behind a screen want to believe he is
How many times have you read a social media post from someone who claims to ‘see through Dabo’s aww shucks act?’ How many times- if Swinney says anything that can even be perceived as possibly negative- do we see thousands upon thousands of people swoop in to say that he is ‘the biggest whiner in all of College Football?’
If you haven’t seen those posts, it’s either because you’re not looking or you don’t spend much time on social media.
The truth of the matter, though, is that the people calling Swinney a ‘used car salesman’ don’t even know what they’re talking about. They want to take a couple of small soundbites and claim that he’s the worst person to ever walk the earth.
The phrase ‘used car salesman’ is used because they want to characterize Swinney as ‘greasy’ and disingenuous. He’s clearly hiding something behind that ‘aww shucks façade,’ right?
Well, to be a used car salesman, don’t you have to be trying to sell something to be better than what it really is? What promise has Swinney made that he hasn’t kept? What action of his can you find that points to him selling something that he didn’t deliver on?
Because the people who are around him- you know, like the hundreds of staff members, coaches, and thousands of players that he has coached over the years- claim it’s one of the best experiences they’ve ever had.
Even those who say they haven’t had the best experience in the Clemson football program have nothing but respect for Dabo Swinney. Prime example? DeAndre Hopkins.
Hopkins has had his fair share of issues with Clemson- and the football program- over the years. But when Swinney’s character was in question, this is what Hopkins had to say about his former coach:
One thing I do know Coach Swinney has never been a racist or had any ill will towards any player. Best coach I’ve ever been around from a football perspective and personal perspective. He helped me become a man and grow from being a kid from Central South Carolina.
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) June 10, 2020
In addition to the promises he has made in terms of building the Clemson football program, Swinney has been nothing short of a leader and mentor to his players.
He boasts one of the nation’s highest graduation percentages, he has promised players who leave early for the NFL that their scholarship will still be intact for them once their professional career comes to a close and he has started programs like PAW Journey to help players with life outside of football. Sounds a lot like a used car salesman, right? Nope.
Swinney has gained the respect of numerous coaches from around the country and there are programs- including Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell, most recently- who have pointed to Dabo Swinney and his leadership as a stepping stone for them in how they were trying to build their program.
If the overwhelming support from his players and staff, as well as the amount of time and emphasis that he spends on his players outside of football wasn’t enough, how about what Swinney does in the community?
He, along with his wife Kathleen, founded the All-In Team Foundation, which has helped with breast cancer research, families and children in Greenville county, developing teachers in local school districts, LIFE programs and much more.
So, who should we believe here when looking at the character and leadership of Dabo Swinney? Those thousands of lives who have been touched by him and who continuously come to his side or TwitterUser12557 who sits behind a keyboard? I think the answer is clear.
Dabo Swinney may say things in a way that you don’t like sometimes and it’s okay to disagree, but actions speak much louder than words and the care he has shown is evident to anyone who actually takes time to look at the facts.
The truth is simple: If you’re calling Dabo Swinney a ‘used car salesman,’ you’re out of touch with reality.