Former four-star quarterback Chad Kelly was kicked off the Clemson football team Monday amid a whirlwind of negative events over the past few days.
Kelly, who is the nephew of former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and was entering his sophomore season, was benched for the second half of the team’s spring game on Saturday for having verbal arguments with coaches.
Coach Dabo Swinney issued this statement announcing Kelly’s dismissal.
“I have dismissed Chad Kelly for conduct detrimental to our program. He has had a pattern of behavior that is not consistent with the values of our program. I hope he will mature and grow from this and become the man and player I know he can be. I wish him nothing but the best in the future academically and athletically.”
What are some of the things he’s done? In addition to getting into it with some of the team’s coaches Saturday, Kelly also was involved in a fender-bender with Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers last Thursday. Rogers wrote the following on her Twitter account to explain what happened:
“With countless texts, tweets and inaccurate reports, I would like to explain exactly what happened in regards to Chad Kelly, who was dismissed from the Clemson Football team today. Last Thursday night, he was riding with someone who backed into my car in my apartment complex. I said I was going to call the police to file the proper report, and Chad got out of the car asking me not to call. He became very agitated and was extremely disrespectful. As proud as I am to be part of the Clemson Football program, it was very disheartening that he showed no remorse for his behavior.
“Chad’s words and actions do not reflect what our coaches have worked so hard to instill in our players. As Coach Swinney stated earlier today, ‘Chad has had a pattern of behavior that is not consistent with the values of our program.’ This incident was simply another example, but not the reason he was dismissed from the team. I hate all this has happened and wish Chad all the best.”
It seems like his behavior in the car incident played a role in his dismissal, as that coincides with the poor pattern of behavior he has displayed.
Clemson will have a new quarterback this fall now that Tajh Boyd has completed his eligibility, and things are looking much better for Cole Stoudt.
Kelly also deleted his Twitter account Monday.
OK, and even though this is a totally different person, just hearing “Miss South Carolina” makes me think of the South Carolina contestant at Miss Teen USA 2007:
