UNC: Roy Williams watched UNC-Syracuse from private box, didn’t take parents’ spots

As a school official, UNC basketball coach Roy Williams didn’t count against the 25-fan limit at Kenan Stadium on Saturday, a spokesperson told The News & Observer on Monday.

Williams appeared on the ACC Network’s broadcast of UNC’s win over Syracuse at Kenan Stadium, watching the game from a private box in a Carolina blue polo and face mask.

His presence angered some on Twitter, who saw it as contradictory given a majority of football players’ parents couldn’t attend the game because of Orange County’s mass-gathering limit of 25 people in outdoor venues amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But UNC’s Steve Kirschner told the News & Observer on Monday that Williams wasn’t counted as one of the 25 fans allowed entry Saturday. Coaches, athletic department staffers and other school officials are allowed to sit in private boxes on the fifth floor of Kenan Stadium without counting against the capacity limit, much like the media members who covered Saturday’s game.

Kirschner also confirmed parents of football players wouldn’t be allowed in those private boxes, since they are limited to people officially affiliated with UNC. Orange County is sticking with a 25-person outdoor mass gathering limit — the requirement under Gov. Roy Cooper’s Phase 2 — even though Cooper has since relaxed those restrictions and allowed 50 people to gather outdoors under Phase 2.5.

The 25 spots in Kenan Stadium on Saturday were reserved for the parents of senior UNC players, such as wide receiver Beau Corrales. UNC plays its second home game on Sept. 19, against Charlotte at 3:30 p.m.

This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 12:55 PM.