Politics wins out over loyalty at Clemson
play by play man is ousted
Pete Yanity
This is by no means a piece to bash new Clemson football play by play announcer Don Munson. I’ve known Don for many years and he’s a fine person and a good play by play man. This is about Pete Yanity and the developments that led to his removal as Clemson’s play by play announcer for football and basketball.
For a place that likes to cloak itself in religious righteousness, especially in the football program, and especially by the head football coach, what happened here to Yanity is most unrighteous.
Full disclosure: I’ve known Pete since he first step foot in South Carolina in 1987. I consider him one of my closest friends, so yes, I’ve got his back. But this cuts deeper than just friendship. This is about fairness, about what’s right and wrong in the workplace and about a decision based solely on in-house political expediency.
Yanity stepped into a tough situation when he replaced Jim Phillips during the 2003 season. As we all know, replacing a legend isn’t easy. But Pete handled the job with great respect towards Jim and with great professionalism, and he was rewarded by being named the next “Voice of the Tigers.” Personally, I think his touchdown call, “There’s orange in the end zone,” is one of the best signature calls in college football.
Yanity gave Clemson everything he had. He successfully juggled his duties as sports director and anchor at WSPA-TV with his Clemson job never slighting either position. I can say with all candor that no sports journalist in our state worked more hours than Pete. Yanity has received the highest broadcasting honors available in our state, all well deserved.
Is work ethic alone enough to keep a job? No. Job performance is at the top of the check list. No play by play announcer is universally loved outside of perhaps Larry Munson, Vin Scully or some of the other iconic voices of sport. There are haters out there. But Yanity’s performance as Clemson’s play by play man was excellent. He delivered everything you could ask from the booth. As a listener, you had a clear picture of the action, and that’s the #1 job for any play by play man.
No, this change was not about job performance. It was not about an outrageous salary demand. It was not about a personality conflict. This was about making room for someone whose role in the football office had diminished to the point where he was not needed there. And where do you place him? Well, the play by play booth, of course.
Munson has been a full time employee of the Clemson athletic department for the past two years working as the Creative Media Services Director. Not knowing exactly what that is, it appears to me that in that role Don worked closely with football coach Dabo Swinney on social media matters paying close attention to what was being written on the Internet about the football program and the head coach. In fact, it was Swinney who created that full time position for Munson within the football office.
But with the arrival of Thad Turnipseed before last season as the Director of Football Recruiting and External Affairs, Munson’s role was greatly reduced, and, as it turns out, no longer needed within the football program. So, instead of cutting him loose, Swinney worked with athletics director Dan Radakovich to find another place for Munson.
Goodbye Pete.
I am not so naive not to know this kind of stuff goes on throughout corporate America. Good people lose their jobs all the time for bad reasons. I think I just expected more from Clemson.
As Swinney likes to say frequently, “Clemson is a special place.” He says it so much that people believe it. But it’s a move like this that should remind us all that Clemson is not special. Clemson is just like every other major university, or corporation or political body in this country.
At the end of the day, politics won out over job performance, professionalism and loyalty. And for Pete Yanity, that means there’s orange in his rear view mirror.
(This post was last modified: 05-03-2014 04:01 PM by XLance.)
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