The North Carolina Tar Heels are coming off a double-overtime victory against the Appalachian State Mountaineers this past Saturday, improving their record to 2-0 this season. But the talk surrounding the Tar Heels is not only on the team but on the NCAA's decision regarding wide receiver Tez Walker.
This past week, the NCAA ruled that Walker was ineligible to play in the 2023 season. Walker had transferred over from North Carolina Central, who canceled their season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to Kent State. In January, Walker transferred over to UNC. Walker and UNC filed an appeal, citing his mental health and to be closer to home to care for his ailing grandmother, and that he never played for NC Central, as reasons for his transfer. Yet, even with the support of NC Central and Kent State, the NCAA stood by their decision to rule Walker ineligible.
On Sunday, the UNC Board of Trustees announced that they would be holding an emergency meeting to "receive a legal update regarding an athletics matter" on Monday.
UNC board of trustees holding an emergency meeting on Monday
Tar Heels fans went on social media, speculating about what the emergency meeting was concerning. Some fans used the "#FreeTez" hashtag when responding.
The NCAA changed the transfer rules to make it harder for those to receive a waiver. This came two days after Walker had begun classes at North Carolina.
Andy Staples of On3 Sports sent out a response to the announcement by the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, saying "it sounds like" this meeting is about Walker's situation. Staples speculated whether other schools would join in, citing that other players who transferred before the rule change were denied a waiver.
The NCAA initially declined his waiver back in August. One month later, the NCAA reviewed Walker's appeal and still upheld their initial ruling. At the time of the initial ruling, Walker expressed his disappointment in the decision in a statement, citing that he just wanted the situation to be over and that he wanted to play in front of his grandmother.
"I want this to be over," wrote Walker. "I want to stop feeling like this. I just want to play. I want my grandmother to come watch me. I want to be a student and an athlete and I hope those in charge give me that opportunity."
We should get a better idea of what was said during the meeting and what the UNC Board of Trustees is planning to do.
