Clemson players defend Dabo Swinney amid racism controversy

Per ESPN's David M. Hale, other members of the Clemson family have followed in Hopkins' footsteps. 

Running back Darien Rencher, who will speak at a student protest over police violence and racial injustices on Saturday, spoke with reporters on Thursday:

"Coach Swinney came from a hard background. But at the same time, being black isn't circumstantial. You don't choose it. For him to acknowledge that even though you come from a hard place, if you're black, it's still harder -- that's something that just to have that conversation, to tune himself in to that reality. We shed tears as a team. For him to say he understands us and that black lives do matter and to rally around us ... he's doing everything he can to educate himself."

Swinney is expected to introduce Rencher and quarterback Trevor Lawrence at Saturday's event. 

Lawrence also spoke highly of his coach. "I think with Coach Swinney, it's easy to judge some things he does," the presumptive No. 1 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft said. "But the biggest testament to who he is are the people around him every day and the glowing views we have of the person he is."

Linebacker Mike Jones Jr. touched upon a recent conversation Swinney had with players following the killing of George Floyd, an African American man who died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 after a white officer kneeled on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. 

"It's good to know that he's trying to understand certain things that are different between me and him," Jones explained. "Knowing he wants to understand. He identifies we need change, and he's asking how we can do change."

Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, who played under Swinney, said: 

"I see a lot of different things being said about him that I don't necessarily agree with because I know him personally. I know his intentions and I know his heart and I know he's a great coach, and he's passionate about developing young men on and off the field. 

"Granted, he might not have said all the right things, he might have done some things that people disagree with and that maybe I disagree with. But that just shows where someone like me could really be a help to Coach Swinney too, just as someone who's close with him and as someone who loves him, continue to help educate him, just have those conversations with him about things going on with him and the media as well."