Clemson legend says Dabo ‘purposely belittled’ son at practice. Coach responds

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is pushing back against allegations from a Tigers legend that Swinney mistreated and “purposely belittled” his son, a member of the team.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Terry Kinard, a former All-American Clemson safety and Ring of Honor member, accused Swinney of making his son Jaden’s last two practices at Clemson “the worst experience of the entirety of the time he was there.”

Jaden Kinard joined the team as a walk-on safety in summer 2022 and, according to his father, had decided to transfer from Clemson after the season but wanted to stay with the team and make the trip for the Dec. 29 Gator Bowl vs. Kentucky.

“Coach Dabo Swinney was not having it,” Terry Kinard wrote in a Facebook post that has over 900 comments and 400 shares as of Thursday. “He made Jaden’s last two practices the worst experience of the entirety of the time he was there. He purposely belittled Jaden, insulted him and called him names.

“This two day public onslaught went far beyond anything resembling any kind of appropriate coach to athlete exchange. Coaches can use tough tactics when trying to get the best out of a player. This was definitely not that! It became obviously personal and it was obviously overkill.”

Kinard has not been a member of the team since Dec. 15, a spokesperson told The State, the same day that university compliance notified Clemson of Kinard’s intent to transfer.

Swinney was asked about Terry Kinard’s post after his signing day press conference concluded Wednesday. The Clemson coach said Jaden Kinard, a scout team player, was one of “about five or six guys that got their butts chewed out” after failing to perform in practice.

“Basically, we just had an accountability run that (strength coach Joey Batson), he schedules these runs all throughout the year with our accountability teams,” Swinney said. “Most teams didn’t have to run. A couple teams did have to run. But one team in particular had to run several over-and-backs and there were about five or six guys that got their butts chewed out and they earned it.”

“So anyway, that’s really it. Other than just, look, football at this level is not for everybody. The commitment, the discipline, the accountability, the mental toughness — again, it’s hard at this level. So that’s really all there is to say. Appreciate the opportunity to say it.”

Terry Kinard’s Facebook post painted a different picture of what happened at practice. Kinard, in his post, said that other teammates who witnessed Swinney’s alleged behavior “tried to encourage Jaden by telling him to keep his head up. Many of them, including Jaden, were puzzled as to why he was receiving this type of attention now.”

Kinard took a redshirt during his 2022 true freshman season and competed on the scout team. As a redshirt freshman in 2023, he’d appeared in three games with one special teams tackle against Georgia Tech.

Terry Kinard insinuated that Swinney was upset that his son had entered the transfer portal but was still practicing with the team and planned to stay with Clemson through the Gator Bowl.

“It was more attention that Jaden had received from Swinney the entire time that he had been there,” Terry Kinard wrote. If Swinney’s “desire was for Jaden to go ahead and move on without finishing out with the bowl game, then he should have said so. There were so many non-offensive ways to handle that if you are being on the up and up regarding your true intentions.”

Kinard, a College Football Hall of Famer who was part of Clemson’s 1981 national championship team before playing eight years in the NFL, went on to write: “There is never, ever under any circumstance where there would be a reason for a coach to handle a player like that. Jaden didn’t deserve that disrespect. No one does.”

In 2001, Kinard was inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor, which, according to the school, is “the highest honor a student-athlete can receive.” After Swinney’s alleged mistreatment of his son, though, he said his family is cutting ties with the school.

“Yet, because of how Jaden was treated….. The Kinard Family are no longer loyal Clemson Football Fans!!!” he wrote.