I was gonna to take today off but this case was too impt not to highlight how the NCAA’s not honoring the MH challenges of a student athlete. The bkgrnd:
In 2020, the NCAA granted a blanket waiver to allow 1x transfers btwn schools to compete immediately. That was a significant change from the standard year-in-residence requirement that forced student-athletes to sit out a yr.
Transfer waiver exemptions were still required for those seeking to transfer more than 1x. That’s where Tez’s story intertwines w the NCAA’s policy & guideline changes.
Think abt what this guy has gone thru. Following his HS career, Tez committed to East Tennessee State but tore his ACL & never played for the Bucs. He then made the move to NC Central, but the Eagles canceled their season due to the p@dem1c.
He then transferred Kent State, & in 2 seasons, became one of the top WRs in the MAC. He had 58 catches for 921 yds & 11 TDs last season. At Kent State he played for coach Sean Lewis, but Lewis resigned his position to take a coordinator job at Colorado on Dec. 8 & Walker entered the portal the next day.
Lewis & WR coach Matthew Middleton at Kent State served as a sounding board for Tez’s MH & fam situation back home w his ailing grandmother. Once it became clear that his coaches would be leaving Kent State, Walker wrote that his MH challenges prompted his transfer back to the state of NC to be closer to his grandmother & his support system. (Having just lost a sick grandma, I can relate to the MH challenges).
Under the new NCAA MH waiver guidance (passed 2 days AFTER Tez enrolled at UNC), the school submitted various documents, including his grandmother’s medical history, a letter from a licensed MH professional who treated him while at Kent, a medical treatment plan & a support letter from Kent.
The NCAA decided earlier this yr that multiple-time transfers must document injury, illness or MH concerns necessitating the transfer or issues surrounding the athlete’s safety.
That’s EXACTLY what Tez/UNC showed. A history of MH complications. And yet Tez is denied? Shame on the NCAA