Pat McAfee: Tez Walker decision is 'dumbest thing' NCAA has done, cites hypocrisy of coaching moves
Pat McAfee went off on the NCAA for their decision regarding North Carolina Tar Heels transfer wide receiver Tez Walker.
On Thursday, the NCAA officially ruled against Walker’s eligibility case, denying him a transfer waiver for 2023. That was maddening to the Tar Heels, and to many around the college football world, and McAfee made sure to make his feelings known during The Pat McAfee Show on Friday.
“Speaking of going bananas, Mack Brown is not happy with the NCAA. … The NCAA is an interesting situation. The NCAA has less power than it’s ever had, in its entire being. Now it used to be the heavy hand in every conversation. Remember, they would use the world that they made up, ‘Amateurism,’ as the reason for why common sense things couldn’t happen for players, and the NCAA divisions. So now that NIL has taken place, it kind of kicks them out, even though they’re digging back in to the files, to find when NIL wasn’t legal, did anybody do any NIL stuff, we will still punish them,” started McAfee. “With what they’re doing in North Carolina, these fans are chanting it, ‘Free Tez Walker,’ for a reason. This is the dumbest thing that the NCAA has maybe ever done.
“I’m not saying it’s the worst thing they’ve ever done, but maybe it’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever done.”
Continuing, McAfee made the point that Walker is a unique case, and the writing is on the wall, the wide receiver should be allowed to play for the Tar Heels in 2023.
“We have players that are playing in college football for as long as it would take to become a doctor. There’s eight-year seniors taking place, with red-shirt, blue-shirt, gray-shirt, COVID-year, COVID-year, transfer year, bounce year. ‘Oh, I’m a doctor now, and I’m a senior on the football field.’ There’s people moving from school to school,” McAfee added. “For what Tez had to do, at his first school essential, he didn’t even step foot on campus or play football, how is that counting as a football year? They didn’t play football. So he transfers from there to Kent State, does well. Kent State’s entire coaching staff, head coach says, ‘You know, I’ll go be an offensive coordinator somewhere else. I’m a head coach here, but I want to be an offensive coordinator at Colorado.’ A team that had one win last year. … I understand the decision, but Tez doesn’t know that.
“So Tez transfers out of there, because his coaches are gone. He goes to North Carolina. A great program, back closer to home. Has family members that are sick. The NCAA says, ‘Well you can’t do that, because you spent your one transfer on that first school you went to, to Kent State. This’ll be your second transfer in undergrad. The rules clearly state.’ It’s like, the rules don’t matter. The rules have been changing for literally the last four years. … It makes no sense that you’re not letting this dude play, and it does feel like you’re personally attacking him, and it’s stupid.”
Alas, this seems to be far from the end regarding the conversation around Tez Walker. Perhaps he’s the spark that finally enacts some much needed change, as Pat McAfee and media members alike put the NCAA to the fire regarding their decision.