In a scathing rebuke of the NCAA’s inexplicable decision regarding receiver Tez Walker’s eligibility, North Carolina football head coach Mack Brown did not mince words.
Brown, visibly frustrated, accused the NCAA of failing Walker and his family, declaring: “It makes no sense, and it never will.”
Walker, who has faced months of uncertainty, had been appealing the NCAA’s initial rejection of his waiver to play in the 2023 season. The basis for the waiver included the mental health challenges he encountered, which led him to transfer closer to home, as well as the fact that he never played for his first school, NC Central, due to the pandemic-induced cancellation of its season.
Both NC Central and Kent State, Walker’s two previous schools, had filed waivers in support of his eligibility for the upcoming season.
However, Walker’s final appeal before a committee of NCAA Division I representatives on Thursday yielded a devastating outcome. In a statement released by the University of North Carolina football team’s official Twitter account, Coach Brown expressed his disappointment.
“We’re absolutely crushed to learn that Tez Walker’s eligibility has been denied for this season and he won’t be able to play. I don’t know that I’ve ever been more disappointed in a person, a group of people, or an institution than I am with the NCAA right now. It’s clear that the NCAA is about process and it couldn’t care less about the young people it’s supposed to be supporting. Plain and simple, the NCAA has failed Tez and his family and I’ve lost all faith in its ability to lead and govern our sport.”
A statement from UNC HC Mack Brown on Tez Walker pic.twitter.com/ngm5jKlL20
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) September 7, 2023
North Carolina’s Athletic Director, Bubba Cunningham, echoed Brown’s sentiments, condemning the NCAA’s decision. Cunningham pointed out that the NCAA had multiple opportunities to make sound and reasonable decisions in the best interest of student-athletes based on individual circumstances, but instead, they made a “maddening, frustrating, and wrong decision.”
The controversy surrounding Walker’s eligibility stems from a change in NCAA guidelines. On January 11, the NCAA announced stricter rules for two-time transfers, a mere two days after Walker began classes at North Carolina.
These guidelines stated that “multiple-time transfers who cannot demonstrate and adequately document a personal need for medical or safety reasons to depart the previous school are not eligible to compete immediately following their second undergraduate transfer.”
Stephen LaPorta, the chair of the NCAA committee on legislative relief, declined to comment on specific cases but emphasized the NCAA’s commitment to student-athlete mental health and well-being.
He reassured that resources and support systems are available to two-time transfers who do not receive waivers to compete as they adjust to their new schools before competing in the following year.
Walker has openly discussed receiving mental health counseling since joining North Carolina, and both North Carolina and Kent State have provided substantial evidence detailing his mental health needs.
Cunningham highlighted that the transfer waiver requirements were altered after Walker had already moved to North Carolina.
Here’s the thing:
Tez Walker did everything how he was supposed to.
He played football at one school.
He entered the transfer portal when rules even allowed immediate eligibility.
He enrolled when schools allowed immediate eligibility.
The @ncaa moved the goalposts.
— UNC Humor (@UNC_Humor) September 7, 2023
Walker, a Charlotte native who once cared for his grandmother in high school, had been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to play for North Carolina, fulfilling his childhood dream in front of family and friends.
Coach Brown lamented: “Just imagine what it is like for Tez to be so excited to come home and have a chance to fulfill his childhood dream of playing for North Carolina in front of all of his family and friends, only to have it taken away despite doing nothing wrong.”
He concluded his statement by fiercely condemning the NCAA, saying: “Shame on you, NCAA. SHAME ON YOU!”
Wow. The NCAA is making a lot of enemies these days.
What are your thoughts on the situation?