Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
Tez Walker is still practicing like he is going to play Saturday night.
Here is what we know about the ineligibility of UNC transfer Tez Walker leading up to the season opener against South Carolina.
An all-conference wide receiver from Kent State, Walker was suddenly ruled ineligible for the season by the NCAA two days after he had enrolled at Carolina with assurances his waiver to play immediately would be approved.
Then the NCAA tightened up its waiver rules and Walker was deemed a “two-time” transfer who would not be eligible right away because he had enrolled at N.C. Central, which cancelled its 2020 season due to COVID.
Mack Brown has continued to work Walker with the first-team offense and told Tez to practice accordingly. “We’ve said to him, ‘Plan on playing.’”
UNC has not heard back on its appeal to the NCAA, despite Governor Roy Cooper contacting Charlie Baker, the new president of the NCAA who so far has defended the new waiver restrictions.
Brown was asked if there was any other recourse. He deferred to Pat Suddes, general manager of the football program who allowed Tez could take action on his own.
So, it is possible that Walker has retained a lawyer and asked for a meeting with a state or federal judge Friday, seeking injunctive relief thru a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that would allow Walker to play against South Carolina pending a hearing next week to challenge the NCAA ruling.
The TRO might only be granted if Walker presented underlying evidence that he would prevail in the lawsuit itself. In claiming the NCAA decision was wrongfully made, he would have to give compelling reasons why he could suffer irreparable damage beyond the NCAA paying him for what he may have lost by not playing. Such as serious mental health issues regarding his family.
A judge can also refuse to grant the TRO. A full lawsuit would involve lawyers from the NCAA and could take weeks or months. In such a court case, Walker would have to show more than damage to a potential pro career, since scouts could still watch him practice and determine his draft worthiness.
Maybe losing money on NIL deals, because they are based on his using his public Name-Image-Likeness to be paid. Or his family in Charlotte missing a chance to see him play, one of the main reasons he chose Carolina.
Of course, the NCAA could still grant UNC’s appeal by the 7:30 kickoff.
Featured image via Kent State Athletics
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
