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Wake Forest, coach Tom Walter release statement on apparent homophobic slur directed at Tennessee caught by ESPN

On3 imageby: Dan Morrison06/03/25dan_morrison96
Tom Walter, Wake Forest
© Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament after an emotional Knoxville Regional against the Tennessee Volunteers. For head coach Tom Walter, those emotions appeared to boil over when cameras caught him shouting what appeared to be a homophobic slur.

The moment, which was deciphered by lip-reading, would be replayed consistently after the fact. Now, Wake Forest and AD John Currie and Tom Walter himself have released statements regarding the incident.

“I am both surprised and deeply disappointed in our head baseball coach Tom Walter for his outburst during last night’s baseball game,” Currie said. “I feel badly for those most hurt by such words. I spoke with Coach Walter immediately after the game and again this morning to address this incident, which is completely out of character for him and does not meet the standards of Wake Forest Athletics. Wake Forest University, or the Atlantic Coast Conference.”

The incident came as Andrew Fischer was stepping into the box in the bottom of the fourth inning. At the time, Tennessee was winning 6-2 and Fischer was working to get the crowd excited during a stoppage while Tom Walter was speaking to the home plate umpire. Fischer would proceed to hit a massive home run in his at-bat.

“I am very sorry for my outburst in frustration last night and I recognize the hurt and disappointment it has caused,” Walter said. “I have seen the videos and while I do not remember the specific moment clearly, that language doesn’t reflect my values or the standards of this program.”

Tom Walter has been the head coach at Wake Forest since 2010. He previously had stops at New Orleans, George Washington, and the Cape Cod League as well. Over the course of his career with the Demon Deacons, he’s accumulated an overall record of 493-381-1. That’s included trips to the College World Series in 2023 and to the Super Regional in 2017. They’ve also played in at least the NCAA Regional in each of the last four seasons.

Wake Forest and Tennessee met back-to-back days on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, Wake Forest forced another game with a 7-6 win. In that game, Fischer made his mark with a home run but that wasn’t enough to overcome Wake Forest. However, in their game on Monday, his home run proved to be part of a seven-run fourth inning that the Demon Deacons weren’t able to overcome after Volunteers pitcher Liam Doyle slammed the door late. Tennessee will now advance to play Arkansas in the Super Regional.