Clemson players, fans react to Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher NIL feud
The college football landscape took a drastic turn in the past 24 hours, with Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher going after each other in a public feud over recruiting and name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.
The feud got kicked off on Wednesday night after Saban accused Fisher that he and his program “bought every player on their team” in reference to the Aggies’ 2022 recruiting class which has eight five-stars and is No. 1 in the country.
Saban backtracked on his comments on Thursday, reaching out to A&M and Jackson State, which he also brought up, and apologizing for bringing up specific programs in his criticism of NIL’s effect. The apology, however, was too late, as Fisher responded in his press conference on Thursday.
“It’s a shame that we have to do this,” Fisher said. “It’s really despicable. It’s despicable that someone can say things about somebody, and more importantly, 17-year-old kids. You’re taking shots at 17-year-old kids and their families that they broke state laws, that we bought every player on this group.”
The banter between the two SEC coaches can be tied back to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, who has been heavily criticized in the past for his comments about NIL. Most recently, Swinney spoke to ESPN’s Chris Low in April, expressing his displeasure with NIL’s effect on recruiting and college football.
“There’s no rules, no guidance, no nothing,” Swinney said. “It’s out of control. It’s not sustainable. It’s an absolute mess and a train wreck, and the kids are going to be the ones who suffer in the end.”
Swinney has reaffirmed multiple times that he’s okay with players receiving NIL deals, but what he is against is “anything that devalues education.”
With Saban and Fisher’s back-and-forth comments, Clemson players and college football fans weighed in on Twitter to express their thoughts on the controversy and Swinney’s past comments.
somebody said this was going to happen, but y’all tried to cancel him…… pic.twitter.com/745VWxBDmU
— 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 (@D_Rench_) May 19, 2022
No Lies Detected 🐐 https://t.co/WaXr0ZfgRe
— Xavier Thomas (@atxlete) May 19, 2022
Live look at Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney pic.twitter.com/Eyk4NolGfy
— John Chancey (@chanceyjohn) May 19, 2022
Dabo Swinney warned everyone this was going to happen…
— matthew hursey🦅 (@MatthewHursey) May 19, 2022
Dabo Swinney right now: pic.twitter.com/hrHecLOQ8f
— McBuster Nut (@EvilFaulkner) May 19, 2022
Dabo Swinney watching all of this right now pic.twitter.com/fulYOdIYMY
— Mikaela Thomas (@MikaelaThomasTV) May 19, 2022
Dabo Swinney watching the Jimbo and Saban beef pic.twitter.com/MBl8ALU2gp
— Noah Patheja (@PathejaNoah) May 19, 2022
"The Vindication of Dabo Swinney"
or, the headline of an article @ESPN will never write. https://t.co/h4bXwu4f1u
— Andrew Davis 🌻 (@OrangePundit) May 19, 2022
One nice thing I learned from Saban vs Fisher is that Jimbo Fisher and Dabo Swinney are not the same person in different hats, so the SEC auto cannibalizing is not in vain.
— Allison Kerlegon Eller (@AKerlegon) May 19, 2022
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