Clemson basketball: Parents of former player are alleging verbal abuse from Brad Brownell

The parents of a former Clemson basketball player are making allegations of verbal abuse by head coach Brad Brownell.

Mark McBride, the father of now-former Clemson basketball player O’Neil McBride, is stating on multiple posts and videos that his son has left the basketball program with three years remaining because O’Neil got to the point where he could no longer tolerate the abuse from Brownell.

The videos and posts are publicly available on Mr. McBride’s Facebook page. The latest video has garnered almost 2,000 views and hundreds of comments.

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Posted by Mark Struthers McBride on Friday, April 30, 2021

The McBride’s are also stating that they are not able to talk to either Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich or Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell.

While these allegations made by the McBride family have not been substantiated, they should be investigated by Radakovich and the athletic program. If they are found to be true, Clemson basketball should indeed make a change.

It should be noted that no other former player or player’s family has ever publicly alleged any type of abuse from Brad Brownell or anyone within the basketball program.

Lots of change for Clemson basketball heading into 2021-2022

If you look at the current Clemson basketball roster, there are just eight players listed on the roster, which means of the 15 players to record playing time in 2020, 46 percent of them are no longer on the roster.  Between graduation, transfers, and those that have quit, the turnover for the program heading into the 2021 season is alarming.

Despite making the tournament in 2020, there is a faction of the Clemson basketball fan base that would like to see Brad Brownell fired and for the program to start fresh with new leadership.

Over the last decade under Brownell’s guidance, the Tigers just 27-40 in one-possession games and have made the NCAA Tournament just four times and only two of those have been with the players that he has recruited, signed, and developed.

There is a lot of pressure under Brownell heading into the offseason.

At this point, Brownell is going to have to scout the basketball transfer portal in hopes that he can entice a few available players to bring their talents to Tiger town in the near future – though these allegations could make that road even tougher.

The 2021 season will be a make-or-break year for Brad Brownell and the Clemson basketball program. Should they fail to get back to the NCAA tournament, Radakovich will have no choice but to move on and grant this program a fresh start with new leadership.