how is he held accountable?

by Pat, in the cloud, Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 15:38 (5935 days ago) @ MadisonDomer

He's not a lawyer that is legally bound by what he says. He's an athletic director. He can be absolute the same way a coach can be absolute that we'll always have the schematic advantage in a game. In the end it's just meaningless press conference words.

I agree that it might not be the most politically correct thing to say, but there is nothing to keep him from saying "Notre Dame will never join a conference as long as I'm the athletic director". If Moose Krause can call the NCAA a bunch of communists at the height of the Cold War over their decisions on TV broadcasting rights for individual colleges, I don't see why Swarbrick can't be a bit more forceful in his own right.

As others have pointed out, saying things like "force our hand" are usually said by people laying down a quote of opposition prior to a move that they know most people won't like.