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Former Texas Tech Transfer Jaylon Tyson Denied NCAA Waiver to Play at Cal

October 26, 2023
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Former Texas Tech transfer Jaylon Tyson, who left the program to transfer to Cal following former head coach Mark Adams’ resignation after allegations he suggested Tyson behave as his slave was informed yesterday that his appeal for immediate eligibility was denied by the NCAA.

A waiver is required by the NCAA for any second-time transfer who has not completed their degree. For many years, waivers were regularly granted often on the basis of a player claiming to need to be near an ailing relative.  Earlier this year, the NCAA decided to tighten up this criterion, limiting appeals to medical or safety concerns that necessitated a transfer. 

Denny Medley/USA TODAY/Reuters/Fil
Former Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams

In a statement to ESPN, the NCAA said, "On January 11, the Division I Council -- which includes a voting representative from each Division I conference -- voted unanimously to significantly tighten the criteria for undergraduate students who transfer for a second time to be granted a waiver to play immediately." As a result of the DI Council vote, multiple-time transfers who cannot demonstrate and adequately document a personal need for medical or safety reasons to depart the previous school are not eligible to compete immediately following their second undergraduate transfer. National office staff, at the direction of NCAA members, have begun applying those criteria for multiple-time transfers for the 2023-24 academic year."

Tyson shined in his prep career at John Paul II High School in Plano, Texas, leading his team to a state championship as a junior and earning a ranking as the number 34 prospect in the nation by Rivals, number 35 by 247 Sports Composite & number 42 by ESPN after averaging 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists & 2.1 steals per game as a senior.

The 6’7 forward began his collegiate career at Texas in the fall of 2021 before transferring to Texas Tech in December of the same year.

In March of 2023, Texas Tech suspended head coach Adams for what the university called an “inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment” that was made to Tyson after allegations that Adams quoted a bible verse telling the player to see him as his master and the player as his slave. There was also a separate incident earlier in the season the school is investigating in which Adams spit on a player.

“I can spit on you whenever I want to,” one person close to the situation stated that Adams said to the player involved.

Adams surprisingly was not fired and instead received $4M in severance after being forced to resign later that week and is now currently employed as the head coach at East Carolina University.

Meanwhile, Jaylon Tyson, seeking to escape the obvious racially-charged toxicity of Texas Tech for a safer environment was denied in his appeal by the NCAA to resume his career at Cal without having to sit out a season. In any rational world, it’s hard to imagine the incident(s) not being considered the definition of an unsafe environment, particularly and profoundly since Tyson was the player who was physically and verbally assaulted by Adams.

“Last year, I was racially discriminated against on multiple occasions. I was called a slave, and that Mark Adams was my master,” Tyson told Sports Illustrated. “When he said that I kind of froze and went down a dark path in my life that I had never [experienced] before. It was very embarrassing for me and my family to have to go through this process.”

texastech.com

Clearly, no player should have to choose between sitting out a year or remaining at a university that allowed this type of behavior to be excused with a public statement from their athletic director stating that “Adams was encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters. ” 

Adding another layer of complication to the matter, the state of Texas has been moving away from DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) protections, setting up a situation where a coach can receive a multi-million dollar golden parachute and a new head coaching job after committing an egregious pair of offenses that would easily justify termination for cause without financial compensation, while at the same time, a student-athlete of color has to sit out a year to get away from a racially toxic environment to further his career.

Cal has appealed the decision and a decision is expected on that appeal by the end of next week. In what should seemingly be an open-and-shut appeal, the answer cannot come soon enough. And should that answer be no, don’t expect Cal to take the response sitting down. Far from it, in fact. 

Story addendum:

In this afternoon’s press conference, Cal head coach Mark Madsen addressed Tyson’s denied waiver request, expressing disappointment with the decision and confidence that there is enough evidence so see a reversal of the waiver denial.

"The NCAA has set forth the criteria," Madsen said. "I've looked at the waiver material. I've been looking at it for months. And obviously, It will be extremely important for Jaylon Tyson to be granted this second waiver, not only for himself but for every other student-athlete who finds himself in a situation like this. In the future,

"As far as why a waiver is denied, I do not have the information to talk about that, because I wasn't in the decision-making room. But as far as why it should be approved, I've seen the content of the material in the waiver. And I believe that this falls within the guidelines that the NCAA has set forth, 

"I'm extremely hopeful that they will (approve the appeal) because of what Jaylon experienced in previous situations, so I'm extremely hopeful that whatever reasons factored into the denial of Jaylon's waiver, I'm truly hopeful that people will look at this very objectively and say, 'Okay, we need to take a hard look because if you set this precedent, that is not a good precedent to set.'"

Discussion from...

Former Texas Tech Transfer Jaylon Tyson Denied NCAA Waiver to Play at Cal

19,828 Views | 57 Replies | Last: 12 mo ago by GMP
bluehenbear
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Will be lucky to have a decision on the appeal by the start of conference play.
southseasbear
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bearsandgiants said:

You want to really make news, just put him into the game, waiver or not.
Didn't we try that with Isaac Curtis?
oskidunker
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bluehenbear said:

Will be lucky to have a decision on the appeal by the start of conference play.


Why would Cal say they expected a decision by the end of this week? They must have based that on something
Go Bears!
bearsandgiants
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oskidunker said:

bluehenbear said:

Will be lucky to have a decision on the appeal by the start of conference play.


Why would Cal say they expected a decision by the end of this week? They must have based that on something


Does the NCAA work weekends?
bluehenbear
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And you trust what comes from this athletic department?
KoreAmBear
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bearsandgiants said:

oskidunker said:

bluehenbear said:

Will be lucky to have a decision on the appeal by the start of conference play.


Why would Cal say they expected a decision by the end of this week? They must have based that on something


Does the NCAA work weekends?
Do they work 40 hours a week?

I believe with the national attention, someone posted on X that a hearing for Jaylon would be for Friday. Not sure if that really happened, and even then, that doesn't mean a ruling happens on the spot. They then have to formulate some kind of written memorandum of opinion/order on appeal. Not sure how fast that process is.
stu
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Do they work 40 hours a month?
Basketball Bear
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Here it is the day before the game and all I hear is crickets. Let's hope the decision goes our way once for a change.
calpoly
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Econ141 said:

The only part I don't agree with the article is "don't expect Cal to take the response sitting down. Far from it, in fact."

I can assure everyone this is 100% what Cal will do. Cal admin always takes the response sitting down. See any countless examples from the offsides penalty in ND, to sitting on the sidelines throughout the entire realignment fiasco ultimately getting saved by Stanford alums.

When have we not taken a beating and asked for another? This is the "may I have another" in long line of " anothers."
This comment did not age well.
PtownBear1
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calpoly said:

Econ141 said:

The only part I don't agree with the article is "don't expect Cal to take the response sitting down. Far from it, in fact."

I can assure everyone this is 100% what Cal will do. Cal admin always takes the response sitting down. See any countless examples from the offsides penalty in ND, to sitting on the sidelines throughout the entire realignment fiasco ultimately getting saved by Stanford alums.

When have we not taken a beating and asked for another? This is the "may I have another" in long line of " anothers."
This comment did not age well.
Possibly. We don't know if it was the administration or the coaches or both who drove this, but my money is on the coaches.

In any event, all's well that ends well. Amped for tomorrow night.
udaman1
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Who's going tomorrow?? Raise your hands
MoragaBear
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Staff
MoragaBear said:

Econ141 said:

The only part I don't agree with the article is "don't expect Cal to take the response sitting down. Far from it, in fact."

I can assure everyone this is 100% what Cal will do. Cal admin always takes the response sitting down. See any countless examples from the offsides penalty in ND, to sitting on the sidelines throughout the entire realignment fiasco ultimately getting saved by Stanford alums.

When have we not taken a beating and asked for another? This is the "may I have another" in long line of " anothers."

You're wrong.
The denial was never going to stand
BearlyCareAnymore
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MoragaBear said:

MoragaBear said:

Econ141 said:

The only part I don't agree with the article is "don't expect Cal to take the response sitting down. Far from it, in fact."

I can assure everyone this is 100% what Cal will do. Cal admin always takes the response sitting down. See any countless examples from the offsides penalty in ND, to sitting on the sidelines throughout the entire realignment fiasco ultimately getting saved by Stanford alums.

When have we not taken a beating and asked for another? This is the "may I have another" in long line of " anothers."

You're wrong.
The denial was never going to stand
I assumed it wasn't going to stand either, but the process of taking a bunch of time and then denying everyone and making them appeal so that even the most obvious case in the universe ends up missing a game is confounding. The facts weren't complicated. This is a very player unfriendly process. Decisions should be made with enough time for appeals to be completed before the first day of practice.
MoragaBear
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Staff
BearlyCareAnymore said:

MoragaBear said:

MoragaBear said:

Econ141 said:

The only part I don't agree with the article is "don't expect Cal to take the response sitting down. Far from it, in fact."

I can assure everyone this is 100% what Cal will do. Cal admin always takes the response sitting down. See any countless examples from the offsides penalty in ND, to sitting on the sidelines throughout the entire realignment fiasco ultimately getting saved by Stanford alums.

When have we not taken a beating and asked for another? This is the "may I have another" in long line of " anothers."

You're wrong.
The denial was never going to stand
I assumed it wasn't going to stand either, but the process of taking a bunch of time and then denying everyone and making them appeal so that even the most obvious case in the universe ends up missing a game is confounding. The facts weren't complicated. This is a very player unfriendly process. Decisions should be made with enough time for appeals to be completed before the first day of practice.
The whole process was handled atrociously by the NCAA, especially by dragging it out so long.
calumnus
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PtownBear1 said:

calpoly said:

Econ141 said:

The only part I don't agree with the article is "don't expect Cal to take the response sitting down. Far from it, in fact."

I can assure everyone this is 100% what Cal will do. Cal admin always takes the response sitting down. See any countless examples from the offsides penalty in ND, to sitting on the sidelines throughout the entire realignment fiasco ultimately getting saved by Stanford alums.

When have we not taken a beating and asked for another? This is the "may I have another" in long line of " anothers."
This comment did not age well.
Possibly. We don't know if it was the administration or the coaches or both who drove this, but my money is on the coaches.

In any event, all's well that ends well. Amped for tomorrow night.


When Knowlton was informed about McKeever's racist and abusive behavior he said: "Tough coach, one day you will thank her for it." Then gave her a new $5 million contract. Mark Fox has an authoritarian coaching style, closed his practices to observers (a huge red flag) and Knowlton loved it, even giving Fox an extension until his driving away any talent we had and crushing all joy any player had left until it lead to the worst record in the country and in Cal history whike scoring the fewest points in the country. Even then Knowlton pumped out the injury excuse.

Knowlton's background is a career in the Army and military academies. Given all that we know about him my bet is that when Knowlton first heard about the coach quoting the Bible to Tyson, his sympathy was with the coach. Moreover, in the Army when the decisions come down, you do not protest. You accept them. You follow orders.

Maybe Knowlton did in fact do part of the job we pay him $1.3 million a year to do, but my bet is it was Madsen that drove this.
Bearly Clad
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Biggest piece of good news we've had in a while. Jaylon drastically changes the outlook of our team this season. Our ceiling with him in the fold is significantly higher and we could legitimately push for the top 1/3rd of the PAC
udaman1
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per "sportsbookwire"(?) , "The Golden Bears head into their game against the Tigers as a 6-point favorite. The matchup features an over/under of 144.5."

We're going to blow them out. Monday was just a "let's get to know each other on a court against a weird team". Haas is going to be hyped tomorrow. Cal by 12+
HoopDreams
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I haven't seen a lot of film on Tyson, but what I have seen is a player with a great handle, very shifty, and athletic

basically impossible to keep in front of you and will need a lot of help defense to keep him from scoring inside

if he has an outside shot, pull up jumper and can finish at the rim he could be an elite player for us



bearsandgiants
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HoopDreams said:

I haven't seen a lot of film on Tyson, but what I have seen is a player with a great handle, very shifty, and athletic

basically impossible to keep in front of you and will need a lot of help defense to keep him from scoring inside

if he has an outside shot, pull up jumper and can finish at the rim he could be an elite player for us




He changes the game, and it's why he's an NBA draft prospect. In addition to all the things mentioned, his ability to draw doubles and distractions will open up countless opportunities on the perimeter. We finally have shooters and a huge guy not only can rebound, but can handle the ball, shoot and pass (Amiq). This team is gonna be great.
oskidunker
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Has he been able to practice with the team?
Go Bears!
BearGreg
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oskidunker said:

Has he been able to practice with the team?
Hasn't missed anything other than scrimmages with other teams
GMP
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bearsandgiants said:

HoopDreams said:

I haven't seen a lot of film on Tyson, but what I have seen is a player with a great handle, very shifty, and athletic

basically impossible to keep in front of you and will need a lot of help defense to keep him from scoring inside

if he has an outside shot, pull up jumper and can finish at the rim he could be an elite player for us




He changes the game, and it's why he's an NBA draft prospect. In addition to all the things mentioned, his ability to draw doubles and distractions will open up countless opportunities on the perimeter. We finally have shooters and a huge guy not only can rebound, but can handle the ball, shoot and pass (Amiq). This team is gonna be great.

I did a quick check and don't see him on any of the usual draft profile websites (nbadraft.net and Draft Express). Well, he's there but there is no scouting report on his profiles.

Anyone have any draft profile scouting reports?
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