Passionate fans and in-state rivalries are dime a dozen in college sports but even more so in football.
Jabs and jokes are to be expected, but sometimes, they can cross the line. North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye apologized for his remark about NC State this week, calling it “inappropriate.”
When meeting with the media on Tuesday, the quarterback was asked about his predecessor, Sam Howell. Like Maye, the current Commanders quarterback is a North Carolina native and flipped his commitment from Florida State to the Tar Heels during his recruitment. Likewise, Maye decommitted from Alabama for North Carolina. He said that Howell’s 2019 success “100%” factored into his decision.
“I didn’t want to miss out on the home state, seeing Sam being a hometown kid, too. … Whether you want to admit it or not, growing up in Carolina, you’re gonna be a Carolina fan,” Maye said before taking a jab at their rival 25 miles southeast of Chapel Hill. “Some people may say [NC] State, but really people who go to [NC] State just can’t get into Carolina.”
The freshman went on to say, “At the end of the day, playing for Carolina is what a lot of people from North Carolina want to do, so I didn’t want to miss out on that, and obviously the family history.” Maye’s father, Mark, played football in the Carolina blue from 1983-87, and one of his brothers, Luke, was famously part of the 2017 men’s basketball national championship team.
The clip of his jab made its rounds on social media, eliciting reactions from both fanbases. Maye later issued an apology on Twitter Tuesday evening, saying, “I made a remark today about NC State, and I want to apologize. I was answering a question about playing in-state and said something I shouldn’t have. I said it as a joke but it was inappropriate. I feel bad and need to do a better job representing our program and this University.”
Coach Mack Brown said Wednesday that he discussed the remark with Maye and the athletic communications team. He said, per WRAL, “If something’s not what we want it to be as a family—and North Carolina football that’s not who we are—let’s fix it and let’s move forward.”
Brown went on to defend the quarterback.
“He was absolutely cutting up, obviously it wasn’t true,” Brown said. “And I talked to him after practice today a little bit and he said, ‘Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a distraction. I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. I was just having fun.’
“And I said, I know. You’re 18, 19 years old. Have fun, but always be very respectful of everybody, and especially your neighbors. NC State’s got a great university and again it was fun. It was a young guy trying to cut up and enjoy you all (media) and be relaxed before a big game and it just didn’t come across right.”
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