North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker remains ineligible as the NCAA delays ruling on his ability to play.
Friday, ahead of their season opener against South Carolina, Tar Heel football coach Mack Brown issued a statement criticizing the governing body for the handling of Walker’s case:
“We’re one day away from our highly-anticipated season opener against South Carolina, and unfortunately, Tez Walker remains ineligible. Our institution has been pushing for Tez’s case to be reviewed by the assigned committee, so that it could be heard prior to our first game. But, the NCAA’s unwillingness to provide clarification over the last few weeks has left us in this position. At this point, everyone knows the details of Tez’s journey to North Carolina, and the overwhelming opinion of those around the country is that he should be playing tomorrow and this should have been resolved months ago. I can’t express my disappointment in the NCAA strong enough. The NCAA has been reluctant to consider the real issues of mental health, Covid and rule changes that have impacted Tez’s personal journey. They say they’re about helping kids, but all they’ve done is add to the very mental health issues Tez has been dealing with that made him want to get closer to home to begin with. You can’t say you’re about helping kids and then show a total disregard for the kids you’re supposed to be helping. It’s clear they are about process and not people. Fortunately, the committee still has a chance to recommend a correction to this egregious error. We look forward to them hearing his case, and recommending the only outcome this case deserves, that Tez Walker should be eligible to play.”
The Tar Heels’ opening contest against the Gamecocks will kickoff Saturday at 7:30pm.