Dabo Swinney declines comment on Clemson's lawsuit against ACC

As far as Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney is concerned, the lawsuit filed by his employer against the Atlantic Coast Conference — which essentially is the Tigers seeking a path out of the conference — is above his pay grade. Asked about it at a recent spring practice press conference, he demurred on discussing it further.

Clemson filed suit against the ACC in March, joining fellow ACC school Florida State in suing the league over the Grant of Rights, a binding agreement giving over broadcast rights for the various schools sporting teams that theoretically runs into the late 2030s. While Swinney was surely aware of the lawsuit and the growing displeasure of a number of ACC schools — his employer included — as the Big Ten and SEC pull away in revenues, he downplayed discussing the lawsuit.

“Obviously I appreciate your question, know that’s going to be a question to come. But man, that’s so far out of my lane,” Swinney said.

True to form, Swinney busted out the folksiness in referring questions about the lawsuit to athletic director Graham Neff and university president James Clements for further answers.

“That’s PresidentClements.com and GrahamNeff.com,” Swinney said. “Or at AOL.om. At Clemson.edu. They can answer all them questions. I’m just trying to — I know we’ve got a season, that’s all I’m focused on.” 

Clemson issued a statement shortly after filing the lawsuit

The institution issued a statement Tuesday in the wake of its filing against the conference, stating it remains a member of the conference but is seeking a court ruling to clarify if the Tigers control their broadcast rights for games if they decided to leave the league. The 28-page complaint was filed in March in Pickens County, South Carolina.

“In this litigation, Clemson seeks confirmation of the plain language found in the Grant of Rights agreements and the related media agreements between the ACC and ESPN – that these agreements, when read together, plainly state that Clemson controls its media rights for games played if it is no longer a member of the ACC,” the statement reads. “Clemson also seeks a ruling regarding the unenforceability of the severe penalty the ACC is seeking to impose upon exiting members and confirmation that it does not owe a fiduciary duty to the conference as alleged by the ACC.

“… Clemson has not given notice that it is exiting the ACC and remains a member of the conference.”