North Carolina’s players and team managers apologized on Tuesday after a video of several players partying without masks after Saturday’s win over Duke forced the postponement of Monday’s game against Miami.
Two hours before Monday’s men’s basketball game between Miami and North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the ACC announced that both teams had mutually agreed to postpone the game. The decision comes hours after North Carolina student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel posted a Snapchat video featuring unmasked UNC standouts Day’Ron Sharpe and Armando Bacot, along with other non-masked youths did not, Saturday thereafter UNC’s 91-87 victory over Duke.
In Tuesday’s apology, North Carolina players and managers said Bacot and Sharpe were not alone.
“On Saturday, a number of players and managers – not just those seen on the video – gathered to celebrate our victory at Duke,” they said in a statement. “We were planning to celebrate privately within our group. Unfortunately, we allowed several friends who are not members of the team to join the event. We were inside and did not wear masks, which was a mistake.
“We apologize for not following the guidelines of the University and the athletics department, and we ask Coach Williams and his staff that they did not come forward when he first addressed us on Sunday. We have eight months worked too hard to do the right things to do it.types of mistakes at this stage of the season.We are hopeful that we can play again soon and want to remind everyone to stay safe so that this pandemic as soon as possible will be. “
In the short video, published by The Daily Tar Heel, Sharpe and Bacot, who together scored 27 points in the victory over their main rivals on Saturday, are hanging out with several people in a room while music is playing in the background.
Although the league statement does not provide details, the ACC’s health and safety protocols state several reasons for postponing a match, which include the “inability to conduct adequate contact detection in accordance with government requirements or recommendations” and the “inability to isolate new positive cases, or to quarantine high-risk cases for travelers and university students.”
Roy Williams said in a statement that he was glad his players and managers apologized.
“I appreciate the players who apologize,” Williams said in the statement. “They made a mistake. They’ve been fantastic for over eight months in the way they handled the whole situation with the virus. But they realize they made a mistake, for which they pay a very significant price. “
The school did not say how Saturday’s video could affect games after Monday’s game against Miami.