Parents, kids upset after Panthers' Tetairoa McMillan no-shows at camp
· Yahoo Sports
Parents, children and Panthers fans arrived at Reynolds High School July 1, thrilled for a chance to learn from an NFL pro at Carolina Panthers’ receiver Tetairoa McMillan’s camp, just to be left sorely disappointed when neither he nor anyone with the camp showed up.
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Several parents told the Citizen Times they received emails notifying them the camp had been canceled and their registration had been transferred to a camp hosted by Xavier Legette, another Panthers receiver, at Garinger High School in Charlotte on May 17. But the emails had come after Legette’s camp had passed. Others said they never received any email notification.
FlexWork Sports Management, which advertised the camp and was supposed to host it, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
A representative for McMillan told the Citizen Times on July 1 the camp had been canceled in February. McMillan was not part of planning the event and had been asked to attend by FlexWork, but he was not able to make it work.
“We’re really disappointed about the lack of information and communication,” Alyssa Kowalski, who brought her son to the camp from South Carolina, said. “You have all these children that are looking forward to seeing these players they look up to. It’s very unfortunate you’re letting their dreams go to waste.”
A Facebook post from FlexWork Sports Management on Oct. 19, 2025, advertised the July 1 camp, where boys and girls ages 6-16 could “Learn skills from Tetairoa,” “Get a pic with the star” and “get swag.” Tickets for the event were around $100, attendees told the Citizen Times. Kowalski estimated there were 20 other people there, with more arriving as she left.
Reynolds coach Chandler Greer said the school found out about the camp when the flyer was posted. Greer said Reynolds tried to reach out to FlexWork but did not receive a response. Since this week is a dead period in the NCHSAA calendar — meaning school-sponsored athletic activities and access to facilities are not allowed — Reynolds tried to inform FlexWork that the field was not available for use and the school would not have anybody there.
“This McMillan camp, we had no clue to anything going on about it,” Greer said.
A similar camp, hosted June 20 by Reynolds alum and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle through the company ProSportPlex, went through the proper channels with the school.
Some parents who accessed their tickets July 1 noticed the information had been changed to a camp hosted by FlexWork with Legette on May 17. Jason Waldrup told the Citizen Times his tickets still listed the McMillan camp at Reynolds.
Waldrup added that he was one of the only parents who received an email about the cancelation prior to the Legette camp, though it went to his spam folder in February. Other parents he talked to, he said, received the notice on different dates, mostly in late May.
“No one signed up for Legette in a different town, a different player on a different day in a different month,” Waldrup said. “We all signed up for this camp on this day in Asheville. It’s bizarre that their policy would be we’re changing your whole setup … without asking if that’s what you wanted to do.”
Waldrup lives in Asheville, but others had to travel, staying in hotels and taking time off work.
Scott and Tracy Epley took two days off work to bring their son, Zac, to the camp from Rutherfordton. Tracy Epley said she bought the ticket in February and had a confirmation email with all the information for the event, but the tickets wouldn’t load. She said she had not been contacted by anyone involved in the event.
"We definitely want a refund, but not just for our tickets, for our time,” Epley said. “We’ve lost over $1,000 in wages by missing work today. … It’s frustrating. Something associated with the kids, you’d expect it to be legit.”
Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @EvanGerike.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Parents, kids upset after Panthers' Tetairoa McMillan no-shows at camp