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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer broke a bone in his right foot when he kicked something in frustration after his team squandered a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead last Saturday and lost 41-39 at home to Florida.
Beamer limped into his weekly press conference Tuesday, but doesn’t expect to have surgery.
“It was after the game, and certainly that was a gut-wrenching and emotional loss,” Beamer told reporters. “I was frustrated and kicked something I shouldn’t have kicked and thought I was OK, and then the adrenaline of the game wore off.”
The Gamecocks (2-4, 1-3 in the SEC) are off to their worst start since Beamer arrived in 2021 and have been beset with injuries.
“Before anyone starts the narrative like the head football coach is frustrated and lost his poise and all that — no, I care. I care about these kids, and I was really upset on Saturday night because I didn’t do enough to help them get over the hump and win the football game,” said Beamer, who guided the Gamecocks to winning records in each of his first two seasons.
“It hurts like you know what, but I’ve got to show toughness and fight through it. Been one of those years.”
Beamer, never shy about showing emotion or passion, said his athletic director, Ray Tanner, “died laughing” when Beamer told Tanner that he’d broken his foot.
“It’s like I told the players. I don’t condone it and not saying it’s OK to kick things after the game. I feel bad as a dad. My kids saw me and they were like, ‘What the heck?’ So lesson learned. Stupid on my part.”
In keeping with the injury theme on the team this season, Beamer joked that he was “very probable” for Saturday’s game at Missouri.
“The problem will be not being on any kind of pain medication … because I’ll be loopy if I’m on pain medication,” said Beamer, adding that he needs to be focused to make the calls.
