There is one quote that Clemson’s Dabo Swinney just can’t seem to get away from.

More than a decade ago, Swinney answered a question about Northwestern college football players attempting to form a union.

“We try to teach our guys, use football to create the opportunities, take advantage of the platform and the brand and the marketing you have available to you,” Swinney said in 2014. “But as far as paying players, professionalizing college athletics, that’s where you lose me. I’ll go do something else, because there’s enough entitlement in this world as it is.”

It’s a quote that time and again has been taken out of context, with many trying to spin it to Swinney saying he was absolutely against NIL or players being paid. What the head coach actually meant was that he was against “professionalizing” college athletics, which would bring players’ unions, collective bargaining and professional contracts.

During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Swinney was once again reminded of the quote when he was asked about his stance on players getting paid.

“I never said that, I said I was against professionalizing college athletics,” the head coach said. “Where we don’t have education, we don’t have scholarships. That is not the case.”

Swinney’s stance has always been that he wants college athletics and education to be tied together.

“These kids go to school, they have to qualify, they have to take tests, they have finals, they have degree completion percentages that they have to make. They have to pass a certain amount of hours. Those things are real. Those things are not make-believe. These are student-athletes.”

Despite having clarified the remarks from 2014 countless times over the years, Swinney still gets asked about his stance. As early as 2019, Swinney told ESPN in an interview that he wasn’t against the idea of athletes profiting off of Name, Image and Likeness.

On Tuesday, Swinney again defended his stance, saying he’s got no issue with players getting paid, as long as the schooling piece remains a part of the mix.

“Their opportunity is different,” Swinney said. “Their scholarships are different. The rev-share. All those things are great. It is not just a professional contract to show up and play football. There is a lot that they have to do as college athletes. That hasn’t changed.”