Could Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban, and Ed Orgeron be scheming in hopes that their football players will not be affected by Covid-19 when football seasons gets here in the fall? Football analyst, Boomer Esiason, seems to think so.
Keep in mind that Esiason doesn’t have what many would see as a love affair with Clemson. This has a lot to do with the fact that during his four years at the University of Maryland (1980-’83), Esiason and his Terrapins went 1-3 against the Tigers.
This included a game in 1982 where Esiason was picked off by Billy Davis at the Clemson 38 yard line with 25 seconds to play. This clinched a second straight ACC Championship for the Tigers and kept the Terps from winning one while leaving some of their players teary-eyed.
So it wasn’t all that shocking when Esiason took a dig at Clemson on Monday. It came during Esiason’s CBS Sports Radio show. The former Maryland quarterback suggested football players at Clemson, along with SEC teams are contracting the COVID-19 virus on purpose. He sees it as an attempt by them to keep from contracting it during the season.
“I have to be really careful here because I do not want to say this is an accusation,” Esiason said. “I was thinking the other day about what is going on with the SEC teams down South and Clemson included, who is obviously an ACC team. A lot of their players are coming down with COVID-19 oddly enough.”
Boomer Esiason believes SEC teams and Clemson are giving players Covid-19 now to help their football programs in anticipation for the fall season.
— that SEC podcast (@thatSECpodcast) June 29, 2020
“I think it’s going on… I don’t think it’s that crazy.”pic.twitter.com/XeU1Vqanay
As for his thoughts on the current situation, along with his feelings about Dabo Swinney and the SEC coaches that were mentioned, Esiason didn’t hold back.
“So, are they trying to herd immunity their teams,” Esiason asked. “So, these guys can go and get sick now, as opposed to getting sick during the college football season. I am telling you right now, I would not put it past any of those guys down there.”
Turns out, he did flat out accuse teams of it after saying he wasn’t going to do so.
“I think it’s going on,” Esiason said. “I don’t think it’s that crazy.”
The Tigers Athletic Department reported 19 new cases for the COVID-19 virus last Friday and 14 of those were football players. This was the second straight week the Clemson football team saw a pretty large number of players test positive for Covid-19.
Is Dabo Swinney going to risk the well being and overall health of his players in an attempt to do this with the possibility still out there that the season could very well be canceled anyway? And we haven’t even broached the liability issue. Most Tiger fans that have followed Clemson Football since he took over would argue that he, in fact, would not.
