UNC football coach Mack Brown won’t apologize for Tez Walker NCAA eligibility comments
North Carolina football coach Mack Brown is not apologizing for any of his remarks concerning wide receiver Tez Walker and the NCAA’s handling of his eligibility case.
The NCAA on Tuesday released a statement criticizing UNC leaders for comments about Walker and the NCAA’s rulings. The NCAA says serious, possibly criminal threats had been received by some committee members who dealt with the case and the decision to deny Walker immediate eligibility as a two-time transfer.
Brown, on a media call Wednesday, said:
“I’m not going to apologize for standing up and trying to do what’s best for our young person, and making sure that he understands we have exhausted every possibility that we can to help him.
“Because if we haven’t, then we’re not doing our job. And none of this was to embarrass anybody, to get anybody threats. The only thing we’ve done is take up for our player. And I’m very proud of that. And if I had to do it over again, I’d do exactly the same thing. ...
“We’re standing up for a player who we feel like was treated poorly and there was lack of judgment.”
Brown publicly lashed out at the NCAA last week when the Committee for Legislative Relief ruled Walker would not be eligible this season, ending a statement by saying, “Shame on you, NCAA. SHAME ON YOU!”
UNC’s board of trustees held an emergency meeting Monday to discuss all options concerning the Walker situation, including legal options.
The NCAA noted all 32 Division I conferences voted in favor of stricter eligibility waivers for two-time transfers. In its statement, it said some coaches had urged “vociferously” that the move be made, adding “including UNC’s own football coach.”
“The transfer rule, we’re not dissatisfied with it,” Brown said Wednesday. “We’re dissatisfied with the committee reviewing the waiver, because Tez’s situation is different.”
Walker enrolled at N.C. Central but never played for the Eagles when the 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic. He transferred to Kent State, played two seasons, then transferred this year to UNC, enrolling in January.
The NCAA has maintained a policy of not commenting on rulings and decisions but did Tuesday with its statement from Georgia president Jere Morehead, chair of the Division I board of directors.
Brown said those at UNC “totally understand” the concerns of the NCAA expressed in the statement, adding. “But we have the same concerns here and feel like it’s fair for us to express it.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2023 at 11:43 AM with the headline "UNC football coach Mack Brown won’t apologize for Tez Walker NCAA eligibility comments."
