Wake Forest head baseball coach Tom Walter was caught using a homophobic slur during his team's loss to defending national champion Tennessee in the College World Series Regional Round on Monday (June 2) night.
Walter appeared to mouth the words "f**king f***ot" right before Tennessee first baseman Andrew Fischer hit a two-run home run to extend the Vols' lead in the fourth inning during an eventual 11-5 win. Walter issued a statement Tuesday morning apologizing for his "outburst" on Tuesday (June 3).
"I am very sorry for my outburst in frustration last night and I recognize the hurt and disappointment it has caused," Walter said via GoDeacs.com. "I have seen the videos and while I do not remember the specific moment clearly, that language doesn't reflect my values or the standards of this program. Regardless, I own the consequences and I apologize to the University of Tennessee, to Wake Forest University, and the SEC & ACC."
Wake Forest Vice President & Director of Athletics John Currie, who had previously worked as Tennessee's athletic director in 2017, also issued a statement via GoDeacs.com.
"I am both surprised and deeply disappointed in our head baseball coach Tom Walter for his outburst during last night's baseball game. I feel badly for those most hurt by such words," Currie said. "I spoke with Coach Walter immediately after the game and again this morning to address this incident, which is completely out of character for him and does not meet the standards of Wake Forest Athletics, Wake Forest University or the Atlantic Coast Conference."
Tennessee advanced to the Super Regional Round with its blowout win Monday night and Walter congratulated the Vols while crediting the atmosphere in Knoxville during his postgame press conference.
“It’s been a pleasure playing here the last four days. Really proud of our guys and the way we battled,” Walter said via 247Sports. “Hate that it’s over for our seniors and the guys we’ll lose to the draft, but proud of the way we competed and two great baseball teams gave it their all today. We came up on the short end.”