North Carolina football coach Mack Brown didn't hold back in criticizing the NCAA for denying a waiver that would've allowed wide receiver Tez Walker to play for the Tar Heels in 2023. Now, the NCAA is hitting back at Mack Brown and seemingly placing some of the blame on the North Carolina football coach for threats that have been made against members of the organization.

Last week, Brown said that the NCAA “failed” Walker and his family. The organization clearly didn't take too kindly to the North Carolina football coach's words.

“The NCAA is aware of violent – and possibly criminal – threats recently directed at committee members involved in regulatory decisions. The national office is coordinating with law enforcement and will continue to do whatever possible to support the volunteers who serve on these committees,” the NCAA said in a lengthy statement.

The Division I Board of Directors believes that NCAA staff and the committee are applying transfer waiver guidelines as intended by member schools and giving proper and full consideration to individual cases, including consulting a panel of licensed mental health experts for cases in which mental health is cited as a reason for transfer. The DI Board last year directed the DI Council to refine the guidelines for transfer waivers and apply those guidelines to the 2023-24 academic year. These new guidelines were supported unanimously by all 32 Division I conferences in January, and prior to that were widely supported by member schools and coaches associations…

“The DI Board is troubled by the public remarks made last week by some of the University of North Carolina leadership. Those comments directly contradict what we and our fellow Division I members and coaches called for vociferously – including UNC's own football coach. We are a membership organization, and rather than pursue a public relations campaign that can contribute to a charged environment for our peers who volunteer on committees, we encourage members to use established and agreed upon procedures to voice concerns and propose and adopt rule or policy changes if they are dissatisfied.”