Yesterday the NCAA released their most laughable statement yet, pointing the blame at UNC officials, including Mack Brown directly, for the transfer rule change and the backlash and threats that the committee. On Wednesday, the Tar Heels head football coach held an unscheduled press conference to address the comments and fire back again at the governing body.
Brown started his comments by talking about the statements that the committee members have received threats since the ruling was handed down on Thursday. “I totally respect the chairman of the Division I Committee standing up for the volunteers and his staff. And that's what we all do. And if somebody is harassing the staff, threatening the staff, or has wronged the staff then that’s wrong, and that should stop, and it should stop immediately. You don't want to create mental health problems for those families and the people that are involved because they're trying to do their job. So absolutely wrong. And I absolutely agree with him.”
Brown was later asked about the notion from Jere Morehead and Christopher Pietruszkiewicz that he and the other officials who released statements following the decision are responsible for the reaction from the fanbase and the threats that were received. “No, because nothing I did started threats. If they're having threats that must have come from somewhere else. Nobody I know is threatening anybody so all I'm doing is taking up for our player and that's my job. And I'm totally opposed to anybody who is out there threatening someone regardless of whether they're volunteers of the NCAA, on the NCAA committee, or at UNC.”
Brown explained that none of this was meant to create the amount of tension that has developed between people on either side of this battle. “None of this was to embarrass anybody, to get anybody threats. The only thing we've done is take up for our player. I'm not gonna apologize for standing up and trying to do what's best for this young person because if we haven't, we're not doing our job. If I had to do it over again, I'd do exactly the same thing. There's some hurt on the other side. Well, there's a lot of hurt on this side, too. And I hope the hurt cleans up on the other side. I'm responsible for helping it be cleaned up on this side.”
Brown’s comments perfectly explain what the issue was with the statement that the NCAA released yesterday. Calling out the threats that have been received makes sense because it is ridiculous that things have gotten to that point over sports, which shouldn’t be put in front of morality. However, accusing Brown and others like athletic director Bubba Cunningham and chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz of inciting a mob that has led to the threats is a slanderous accusation from Morehead and Pietruszkiewicz.
All of this has caused many to lose sight of what really matters in this situation, the well-being of the young man that is stuck right in the middle of all of this. “The only thing that's important here is what's best for Tez Walker. This is not about me. It's not about anything else other than his well being.”