NSU football quarterback Tyler Vander Waal posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday, October 28 expressing his “2 cents” about the handling of NSU’s season. His statement follows:

‘Dr. Jones and Kevin have failed the players immensely. The canceling of the season was never about Ronnie. They used his unfortunate passing as a cop out. The lack of leadership was evident. As much as I respected Coach Laird as a coach and a man, he didn’t have any control of this team. As players, we were kept in the dark about everything. The decision makers here thought it was a good idea to cancel the season and take away the only structure we had? They thought it would be smart to take away these players outlets during a time of grief? Where we go to be together and have fun and play the game we love? To cancel the season because we’re not all mentally there and need more time to grieve and then start offseason workouts on Monday? No, I fully believe there was more to this decision than we will ever know. This was just an easy way to get out of things. Most, if not all, of the players in that locker room wanted to play the last 4 games. They didn’t consider the players in this decision and they failed us as
athletes.’

Vander Waal also joined Billy West Live podcast Saturday. Listen to it here.

The NSU athletic department released the following statement apparently in response to Vander Waal’s social media post.  

“We understand and respect the feelings of our players. They are fierce competitors and no doubt some wanted to get back on the field of play. At the end of the day we had to take the health and welfare of players and coaches into consideration when making this difficult decision. While not easy, we are confident we made the right call.”

Photo source: nsudemons.com

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