Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is fuming at Florida State’s administration. The furor continued a day after the Seminoles postponed their ACC game with the Tigers, who had a player test positive for COVID-19 after they arrived in Tallahassee.
“This game was not canceled because of COVID,” Swinney said. “COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game. I have no doubt their players wanted to play and would have played. And same with the coaches. To me, the Florida State administration forfeited the game.”
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.”
Florida State coach Mike Norvell, who has battled COVID-19, released a statement.
“…I appreciate the protocols that have been put in place by FSU and the ACC to ensure everyone’s health while allowing us to play this season,” Norvell said in the statement. “It’s unfortunate that we will not have the opportunity to compete today, but we hope to be able to play Clemson in December. I am thankful for the support and coordination between our administration, Clemson and the ACC office. Our team will now turn our focus to hosting Virginia next week.”