UNC Basketball vs. Miami Postponed, Players Apologize for Not Adhering to COVID Guidelines

UPDATE: UNC has released a statement from basketball players and team managers following the postponement of the game against Miami.

“Saturday night, a number of players and managers – not just the ones shown on the video that was seen – got together to celebrate our win at Duke. Our intention was to celebrate privately within our group. Unfortunately, we allowed several friends who are not members of the team to join the gathering. We were inside and not wearing masks, which were mistakes. We apologize for not adhering to the University’s and athletic department’s guidelines and apologize to Coach Williams and his staff for not stepping forward when he first addressed it with us on Sunday. We have worked too hard for eight months doing the right things to make those kinds of mistakes at this point in the season. We are hopeful we will be able to play again soon and wish to remind everyone to stay safe so this pandemic will be over as soon as possible.”

Additionally, Roy Williams has released a statement.

“I appreciate the players voicing their apology. They made a mistake. They’ve been fantastic for more than eight months in the way they have dealt with the whole situation with the virus. But they realize they did make a mistake, for which they are paying a very significant price.”

The basketball game between UNC and Miami on Monday evening has been postponed, the ACC announced just two hours before tip-off.

The postponement follows a meeting of personnel from both schools, who mutually concluded the game could not move forward today. Tip-off was scheduled for 7 p.m.

𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲:

Tonight's @CanesHoops at @UNC_Basketball game has been postponed.https://t.co/DhSwKWSlL8

— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) February 8, 2021

This announcement comes just days after hundreds of UNC students rushed to Franklin Street to celebrate the Tar Heels’ win over Duke on Saturday. The university announced today that it has received more than 300 referrals for COVID-19 community standard violations from the incident.

Earlier on Monday, the Daily Tar Heel obtained and shared a video of UNC forwards Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe at a party on campus where nobody was wearing masks. The date of the video is unclear. The newspaper reports the video was taken on Saturday night following the team’s victory.

According to college basketball insider Jeff Goodman, Miami was uncomfortable moving forward with the game once the video came out.

The reason that the Miami-UNC game has been postponed is because a video surfaced after the Tar Heels win over Duke in which Day’Ron Sharpe and Armando Bacot were partying without masks, source told @Stadium. Miami wasn’t comfortable playing the game.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 8, 2021

Video obtained by the DTH shows UNC men's basketball players Armando Bacot and Day'Ron Sharpe maskless and partying alongside at least seven others, celebrating a win over Duke on Saturday night.

No in the video appears to be wearing a mask.https://t.co/TqEGYboQpW

— The Daily Tar Heel (@dailytarheel) February 8, 2021

Featured image via ACC Media

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UNC Basketball vs. Miami Postponed, Players Apologize for Not Adhering to COVID Guidelines

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