Clemson deals with brawl fallout

Posted 4:14PM on Friday 15th July 2005 ( 20 years ago )

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Clemson defensive end Charles Bennett knew he and his teammates were wrong for what they did in their season-ending brawl with South Carolina last fall. But he didn't understand the impact of their actions until recently. Bennett helped at a Special Olympics meet this offseason when a competitor came up to him out of the blue and said, ``You shouldn't do that.'' He realized the young man was talking about the fight. ``It hurt me. I realized he was right,'' Bennett said this week. ``We shouldn't be out there fighting. That went too far. That's what really touched me.'' Bennett, his teammates and coaches have taken those lessons to heart. It has largely been a contrite offseason for the Tigers, who while angry about losing a bowl chance because of brawl penalties have kept themselves out of the spotlight and prepared for this season. ``That goes to show how coach (Tommy) Bowden handles the team and it goes to show you what type of players we have on our team,'' defensive end Gaines Adams said. Not that it's been easy to live through one of the ugliest incidents in Palmetto State college football history. Things erupted with less than six minutes to go in Clemson's 29-7 victory over South Carolina last fall. As players began swinging, coaches and reserves came rushing onto Death Valley and skirmishes broke out over much of the field and came dangerously close to frenzied crowds in one end zone. The brawl made national headlines and cost both schools (they each were 6-5) postseason bids as administrators handed out penalties. Six Clemson players Duane Coleman, Nathan Bennett, Brandon Cannon, Roman Fry, Maurice Nelson and Anthony Waters were suspended for one game this coming season for their parts. Bennett and Adams said friends and family kept asking for answers about the fight. ``They still ask about it,'' Adams said. The hardest thing for the players was not going to a bowl game. Adams says the team worked so hard to overcome its 1-4 start to get six victories. ``But people are still talking about the fight,'' Adams says. ``They're always going to be talking about the fight because it seems like they only remember the bad things.'' Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst said he wasn't proud of the fight or the bowl ban, but didn't bother with the negative opinions of some. ``I think it turned out worse than (the fight) really was,'' he said. It was hard to forget the image of Tiger running back Yusef Kelly kicking a Gamecock player flat out on his stomach. A month or so later, Kelly apologized to fans, his school, Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips and to South Carolina for his actions. ``I regret, really, everything that I did. I was caught up in the moment. I wasn't thinking right,'' Kelly said in The (Columbia) State last December. Phillips said Wednesday he was proud of how Bowden, the coaches and the players handled the difficult, stinging aftermath. ``Unfortunately, some things happen,'' Phillips said. ``But it's too broad a brush to paint against all the kids in a program. We're blessed to have good kids, we enjoy working with them. They have a lot of character and are proud of the way they handled themselves.'' South Carolina administrators and coaches probably wish they could say the same thing. Soon after learning about the bowl ban, several Gamecocks took photographs, computers and video equipment from Williams-Brice Stadium. Six players were arrested in that incident. Five more have been arrested on other charges since the end of last year. Demetris Summers, expected to be South Carolina's top running back this fall, was dismissed from the team by new coach Steve Spurrier. This week, South Carolina admitted to 10 NCAA violations during the tenure of former coach Lou Holtz and proposed a two-year probation and a loss of scholarships. ``There are some issues over there that we haven't been involved in,'' Whitehurst said. Phillips warned Clemson backers not to gloat too much because the worm typically turns in college football. In 1996, the Tigers were beset with their own offseason problems and nine player arrests. ``We think we've learned something,'' said Bennett, a junior from Camden. Cornerback Tye Hill says he and his teammates have put the episode behind them. ``It's phases you go through,'' Hill said. ``You laugh about it. And then you come in Monday and see everything and it brings down the character of the team. But then you move on.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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