Rashan Gary's high school received racist voice mail before Clemson visit

A caller directed a thinly disguised racist threat toward Michigan recruit Rashan Gary in a phone message left at his high school the day before his official visit to Clemson, according to North Jersey.com's Darren Cooper.

The nation's top-ranked high school football player had narrowed his choices down to the Tigers or the Wolverines in advance of February's National Signing Day. At 2:30 a.m. the day before Gary's scheduled visit to Clemson's South Carolina campus, a man who only identified himself as "Clemson Dan" left a phone message with Paramus Catholic High School's athletic department.

"Yes, this here is 'Clemson Dan,' and this message is for Rashan Gary," the caller said on the school's voice mail. "We just wantin' to know if you're coming down here for a visit, you better be serious about it, 'cause there's only two things we love and that's Clemson football and the KKK."

The message is being investigated by Paramus police after the high school filed a complaint, Cooper reports.

The caller added, "You better not be fooling around, if you're gonna get a visit, you better be committin'. So, just be aware, this ain't no fooling thing. We Clemson. We big-time football down here."

School president Jim Vail contacted Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables after finding out about the message to ensure the player's safety while on his visit.

Gary committed to Michigan six days later, but his mother Jennifer Coney insists "Clemson Dan" had no effect on her son's decision.

"It didn't turn Rashan off Clemson," she said. "Remember, Rashan is a kid, and he thinks he's invincible and nothing affects him. He loved Clemson and so did I. I just think that he felt overall - not just as a football player - (Michigan) would be the place where he'd benefit the most from going to school."

The police currently have no suspect, and it will likely never be known whether "Clemson Dan" is a fan of the program or a fan of a rival school that didn't want Gary to end up with the Tigers.