Somewhere Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz is clicking the sparkling-red heels on her feet and is saying there is no place like home. For two ACC football players that just wanted to be home to be closer to sick family members, that could not ring more true.
Perhaps Dorothy can take the NCAA officials to The Wizard of Oz and help them find a heart. As expected, the NCAA ruled against the student-athletes who claimed medical hardship, and both players will be forced to sit out the 2023-24 season.
Former University of Miami defensive tackle Darrell Jackson, Jr. announced that he was transferring to Florida State so that he could be close to his ailing mother, Lisa Jenkins. Former Kent State wide receiver Devontez “Tez” Walker announced that he was going to transfer to the University of North Carolina so that he could be near his grandmother, who is battling multiple illnesses and is advanced in age.
Both players were compelled to file for transfer waivers due to the fact that this was their second such transfer.
The players are devastated, and the coaches are angry. Real angry.
This is another act on behalf of the NCAA to show that they have no heart when it comes to allowing players to transfer closer to home to care for aging family members.
“The first, and main reason I decided to transfer from Kent State was the stress and anxiety that I was feeling being away from home while my grandmother deals with health issues,” Walker said in a statement released by the University. “She is my rock, my everything, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”
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Walker was raised by his grandmother, and he takes every opportunity that he gets to spend time with her now that he lives in Chapel Hill.
“It’s meant the world to us to be in the same area, where she is just a short drive away and I have far more opportunities to be with her,” Walker said. “There is also the added bonus that she would be able to see me play college football in person for the first time.”
That is now going to have to wait a year.
Jackson was more subdued in the wake of the ruling, as he spoke to ESPN’s Andrea Adelson, but his coach Mike Norvell could not contain his feelings.
“It was hurtful because I know what I came home for,” Jackson said. “I came home for my mom. So, me, I am just trying to get through it, and be there for my mom. She thinks it’s her fault, but it’s not.”
Norvell sounded as if he has a bone to pick with the NCAA officials that made the decision.
“I’m extremely disappointed in the ruling,” Norvell said from Tallahassee on Tuesday. “He came home for a reason…but the NCAA has a choice with what they’re going to do, and the decision was made.”
The reason the transfers were denied was that both players entered the portal and transferred once before. It should not matter, however, as a medical hardship is evident. Walker even transferred after missing a season due to COVID-19.
Both players have said that they plan on appealing the decisions of the committee.
