ACC commissioner apologizes to Clemson for locker room incident

---

Clemson’s ACC Tournament run ended in a tough 76-73 loss to Louisville in the semifinals on Friday night.

However, one unexpected challenge during the game for the Tigers was being locked out of their locker room for nearly five minutes at halftime.

With no immediate access, Clemson head coach Brad Brownell was forced to deliver his halftime speech in the hallway, a disruption that certainly didn’t help the Tigers in a tightly contested game.

The veteran head coach was asked if this had ever happened to one of his teams.

“No, not at this level. It’s disappointing, obviously,” he said.

On Sunday, Brownell shared that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips personally called him on Saturday to apologize for the incident.

"I did get a call from Jim Phillips last night. I was appreciative of him reaching out and apologizing," Brownell said about the locker room incident. "Jim has been very professional with me throughout my time here. Obviously, I spoke with Bryan Kersey, who is the ACC’s officials’ coordinator, and expressed my displeasure on a few things, but those are in the past now. We need to focus on the NCAA Tournament."

Now, No. 5 seed Clemson shifts its attention to the NCAA Tournament, where they will take on No. 12 seed McNeese State (27-6) on Thursday (3:15 pm/TRU) in Providence, Rhode Island.

According to FanDuel, the Tigers are 7.5-point favorites.

This marks the Tigers' second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and the fifth under Brownell.

Additional footage of the incident that went down at halftime: pic.twitter.com/lsfwsHZ17E

— WAVE Sports (@WAVENewsSports) March 15, 2025

Send Feedback to Tony Crumpton: Email | Comment

Trending on TigerNet

Clemson powers past Louisville on Crighton homer to take game one

Clemson advances in ACC Championships over UNC

No. 19 Tigers continue success in ACC openers and top Eagles