Clemson football coach Danny Pearman has apologized for using a racial slur during a 2017 practice.
Clemson has been in the news ever since head coach Dabo Swinney reacted to the death of George Floyd and the carnage consuming the country. Following Swinney’s comments, former player Kanyon Tuttle accused the head coach of letting a coach say the n-word without consequences in a practice. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Cap, you allowed a coach to call a player the N-word during practice with no repercussions. Not even a team apology. When we had the sit-in in front of sikes you suggested us players try to stay out of it to limit distractions. Stop protecting your brand, take a stand https://t.co/7gznXmyniI
— Tut (@_kinggtutt) June 2, 2020
Don’t think I don’t respect Coach Swinney, he is not a terrible person by any means. But he needs to do better than this. All the black athletes that helped you get where you are, you can do better to show them you really have their best interest at heart
— Tut (@_kinggtutt) June 2, 2020
While details on the alleged incident were initially incredibly thin, assistant Danny Pearman has come forward with an apology to D.J. Greenlee for the incident Tuttle referenced.
“I repeated a racial slur I overheard when trying to stop the word from being used on the practice field. What I overheard, I had no right to repeat … It was wrong when I said it, and it is wrong today,” Pearman said in part in a Tuesday night statement.
You can read the full statement below.
Clemson’s statement on the incident with Danny Pearman & DJ Greenlee… pic.twitter.com/ig7RFZhc0u
— Hi, I’m David (@ADavidHaleJoint) June 3, 2020
Hopefully this apology is enough to put this entire situation behind us. It sounds like Pearman was trying to prove a point about not using racial slurs.
Is that an excuse or justification for dropping the n-bomb? Obviously not, but intent matters a lot. It sounds like there was no malice in his intentions.
At the same time, as a white guy, you have to be smart about what you’re saying.
View this post on Instagram
Right now, this country needs healing and unity. This could serve as a great example of what forgiveness can do.
Pearman has apologized. He’s taken responsibility and it’s time to move forward. There’s absolutely no reason this has to carry on. Let’s all try to spend a little more time coming together and a little less time ripping each other apart.
