NCAA got hazards in wake of eligibility denial

• Andrea Adelson, ESPN

  • Senior WriterSep 12, 2023, 03:19 PM ET Close ACC press reporter.
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
  • Graduate of the University of Florida.The NCAA Department I

board chair and vice-chair stated in a statement Tuesday that” violent and perhaps criminal dangers “have been directed at committee members in the wake of a prominent choice denying immediate eligibility for North Carolina receiver Tez Walker.In the statement, Department I board chair/Georgia president

Jere Morehead and vice-chair/Evansville president Christopher Pietruszkiewicz also stated they were”bothered”by public remarks North Carolina leaders have actually made about the case. Coach Mack Brown and athletic director Bubba Cunningham both knocked the choice recently in pointed remarks taking direct target at the NCAA.Morehead and Pietruszkiewicz stated in their statement the nationwide workplace is coordinating with police on the dangers and”will continue to do whatever possible to support the volunteers who serve on these committees.”A committee of NCAA Department I agents denied Walker’s final effort at eligibility for the 2023 season on Thursday.Editor’s Picks

1 Related”The Department I Board of Directors believes that NCAA personnel and the committee are using transfer waiver standards as intended by member schools and providing correct and full factor to consider to specific cases, consisting of consulting a panel of certified mental health specialists for cases in which mental health is pointed out as a factor for transfer,” their statement stated. “The DI Board last year directed the DI Council to fine-tune the standards for transfer waivers and use those guidelines to the 2023-24 academic year. These new guidelines were supported unanimously by all 32 Department I conferences in January, and prior to that were extensively supported by member schools and coaches associations.”

Walker, who formerly was registered at NC Central and Kent State, thinks he should be allowed to play this year for two factors. He was unable to dip into NC Central because the pandemic canceled the season, and moved to Kent State. Walker also mentions psychological health factors for his decision to transfer from Kent State to North Carolina to be closer to his Charlotte home and his grandmother.In the declaration, Morehead and Pietruszkiewicz stated,”Pointing out extenuating elements, such as mental health, does not always support a waiver request however rather may, in some circumstances, recommend a student-athlete needs to be mainly focused on resolving those critical issues throughout the preliminary shift to a third school.”

Their statement goes on to make pointed comments directed at North Carolina for waging a “public relations project” versus the NCAA. For over a month, Brown has been openly lobbying for the NCAA to authorize Walker’s waiver.Brown said after the final verdict was revealed last week,”I don’t know that I’ve ever been more disappointed in an individual, a group of individuals, or an institution than I am with the NCAA today. It’s clear that the NCAA is about process and it could not care less about the youths it’s expected to be supporting. Plain and easy, the NCAA has actually failed Tez and his family and I have actually lost all faith in its capability to lead and govern our sport.”

Morehead and Pietruszkiewicz stated in their declaration, “Those comments directly oppose what we and our fellow Division I members and coaches called for vociferously– consisting of UNC’s own football coach. We are a subscription company, and rather than pursue a public relations campaign that can add to a charged environment for our peers who offer on committees, we encourage members to utilize established and concurred upon procedures to voice concerns and propose and adopt guideline or policy changes if they are dissatisfied.”

The North Carolina board of trustees satisfied Monday in a closed emergency session to hear from internal and outside legal counsel about possible alternatives for Walker to take. No schedule for a decision has actually been made.