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'That's pretty lame': Mack Brown calls out backlash on postgame with Shane Beamer

imageby:Jack Veltri•09/03/23•

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Shane Beamer (Chris Gillespie/GamecockCentral)

As the seconds ticked down on the game clock, Shane Beamer’s headset came off and he headed toward midfield.

There, he met Mack Brown. The two had crossed paths before. They both coached against one another in the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl, a game in which Beamer’s team won easily. But on this night, it would be Brown and North Carolina that came away winning 31-17.

When Beamer tracked down Brown, he shook his hand, just like he would with any other coach. It’s become a tradition for all coaches at this point. Beamer placed his hand on Brown’s shoulder, while Brown’s hand was on Beamer’s chest.

As Beamer tried to move on, Brown grabbed his neck, jerking it back and whispering into his ear. It was a move that caused an explosion on social media.

It wasn’t until after his postgame press conference that Brown learned of what his actions caused.

“Probably what I did was say, ‘Hey, come here. Come here,'” Brown explained. “I’m not going to grab his throat. I really like him. So if somebody’s going to take a win and try to make me attacking the other coach, that’s pretty lame.”

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There’s enough reason to believe Brown’s gesture wasn’t meant to be harmful, rather him just trying to console a young coach that just suffered a tough loss.

After all, Brown’s relationship with Beamer goes way back.

“I watched Shane grow up from a little child. I mean, a child. So I’m so proud that he is the head football coach at South Carolina. I told him today to hug his mom and dad for me because I love them,” Brown said.

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Even before he met Beamer as a boy, Brown knew his father, hall of fame head coach Frank Beamer.

“Frank Beamer and I grew up in this business together. I was struggling here while he was struggling in Virginia Tech,” Brown said.

“And I remember people saying Frank’s going to win five games next year to keep his job. I thought, oh, my God, that wouldn’t happen nowadays. I lost 20 games in two years. So Frank’s one of the best to ever do it, and we went into the hall of fame together, which is really, really cool.”

In reality, Brown has no ill will towards Beamer or his family. In truth, he couldn’t be happier for his success with the Gamecocks.

“He’s recruiting well, he’s classy, he’s smart, he’s innovative. He’s kind of the new young guy that gets the Twitter and all the stuff that you need to do to be cool with the kids. I just wear cool shoes, that’s all I can do. But for what he did at the end of last year, all I said was that he’s going to be 6-6. And he beat two teams that were unbelievable. So Shane’s got success written all over him,” Brown said.

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