Fox & Carter On Returning, Racial Discussions & More

UNC seniors Tomon Fox and Michael Carter met with the media via Zoom on Thursday to discuss the players returning to campus, the NCAA’s approval of a six-week preseason calendar, and some of the news around the sport and nation.

Here are the full interviews with the two Tar Heels with some bullet points of what they had to say. Note we focused a lot on the recent racial issues facing the nation because it was an important part of the interviews:

*Fox was one of the players that arrived in the first group on June 12, so he was asked about the training regiment over the first week.

“He (strength and conditioning coach Brown Hess) didn’t want to go too hard when we first came back knowing that some people didn’t have access to gyms, they had to do just home workouts. So, right now there’s just a slower tempo to it working on soft tissue stuff, make sure we get our flexibility back and just getting our joints and tendons back.”

*Fox was asked his thoughts regarding the recent publicized incidents where police have killed African-Americans and the protests that have resulted.

“I’m disappointed that we’re in 2020 and we still have all of this racial injustice going on, but I’m proud of all the people of color for going out and standing up for what’s right. We just have to remain optimistic that change is going to keep coming. We as athletes have a platform to eb advocates for change, we have Coach Brown that’s helping us out with everything, and we’ve got a huge support system.”

*As Fox said, the players have talked about these issues among themselves but also with the coaches, with Brown making sure there has been open dialogue.

“I think between the players the conversation has gone really well, especially between white people and people of color because they’ve come to us saying they want to know more and be able to understand what it’s like, what we go through and everything like that. They want to be able to help.

“And with Coach Brown, he serious about this topic. He talked about the cultural center we have, he’s disappointed that it’s not being used for what it’s there for and he wants to change that kind of stuff.”

*The first question for Carter was about him using a platform as a high-profile student-athlete to speak about the recent issues that have flared up involving race. Note: The question began with acknowledgement of a podcast Carter did last fall with UNC basketball player Garrison Brooks, former football player Jake Lawler and women’s soccer player Brianna Pinto.

“Ever since that talk, and even before that, I feel like I’ve had a platform to try and do some different things with it whether it’s on the internet or in real life. We prefer real life. Me and my brothers just had a protest last week in our own town and just being able to educate people on things that black people go through and understand these protests that Colin Kaepernick was doing and many others were doing, it’s not about an American flag, it’s about people in America being treated unjustly and unfairly.

“It’s never been about that. So, me personally, to answer your question, it would be of great interest to try and do some more things like that.”

*Carter said the players have talked about ways they can get their message out and “it’s been really good so far,” he said. “I think the objective is once it started is to keep it going, and I think that is what our next challenge is.

“Everybody, ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and everything like that for like a week or two when it was popular, but now that it’s died down do they still matter is the real question? The answer should be ‘yes’ and the answer should never change.”

*On a lighter note, Carter cut off his well-known and trademark long hair a few months ago. It’s short and tight now, so what went into this decision, and was he ever talked, pulled down by his hair in a game?

“To answer the first question, I had been saying I was going to cut my hair for like four months before I did it. And I was always like, ‘I’m going to wait until I go home to see my barber to do it’ because it’s more of a loyalty thing. So, I went home and I did it.

“I was planning on cutting my really, honestly, since probably October, November, I was like, ‘Man, I’m cutting it.’ So it was just a matter of time.

“And, I can’t remember getting tackled by my hair, to be honest. I’ve been horse collared and they grabbed my hair, but it’s not like they actually yanked my hair out like they’ve done to other players.”