tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088603658552825500.post2418922634597844384..comments2023-11-05T05:53:29.465-05:00Comments on The Hickory Hound: My letter to the UNC Board of Governors about the UNC-CH Football ScandalJames Thomas Shellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04359970774315269896noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088603658552825500.post-78155979874831805632011-07-09T09:54:43.181-04:002011-07-09T09:54:43.181-04:00@goheelsnyc there is no "unc". you must ...@goheelsnyc there is no "unc". you must be referring to unc-ch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088603658552825500.post-1467995632280479632011-07-08T14:50:22.706-04:002011-07-08T14:50:22.706-04:00Thank You for your comments. You are entitled to b...Thank You for your comments. You are entitled to be a Big Carolina fan and love the Carolina Way. I beg to differ about my knowledge of UNC-CH. I know more about the institution than many of its current attendees. Both of my Grandparents were graduates of UNC-CH in the 1940s. My Uncle has a BS in Political Science and a Law Degree from that school. My Cousin earned a BS in Business Administration from there. My Aunt earned a teaching degree from there. I have many relatives with associations such as these with relation to that school.<br /><br />This goes a lot deeper than sports. This involves academic and legal improprieties. This goes a lot deeper than what has been reported in much of the local media. I am sure that you know at least some of that. I understand your spin. If my school (I graduated from UNCW and am a fan of both UNCW and NC State) were involved in such indiscretions, then I might be trying to lighten the load of the infractions; but I know that with what I have seen out of people, such as Erskine Bowles and Holden Thorpe, I would be ashamed that they are downplaying what most everyone sees as arbitrary enforcement in the name of protecting non-deserving athletes at the peril of an institutions academic integrity.<br /><br />The NCAA doesn't need reform. They need to mete out justice in a non-arbitrary manner.<br /><br />The McAdoo case shows that he not only received improper benefits, both academically and monetarily. His paper that has been brought into question has been found to be rife with plagiarism and brings into question the entire course that is being taught (Swahili) and exclusively attended by football and basketball players. It is time to dig in and find out if this sort of Educational Course is the norm at UNC-CH. Where games are being played witb academic achievement in the process of keeping athletes eligible to participate in sports.<br /><br />I feel that the gig is up and it is time to bring some accountability to the circus and charade that is Student-Athletics at UNC-Chapel Hill.<br /><br />And yes that is my personal opinion.James Thomas Shellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04359970774315269896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088603658552825500.post-11287194780954382992011-07-08T11:17:38.493-04:002011-07-08T11:17:38.493-04:00I am a big Carolina fan, and am attracted to the C...I am a big Carolina fan, and am attracted to the Carolina Way.<br /><br /> While this original post has merit, it is written from the perspective of a NCSU fan and one not wholly familiar with UNC athletics or the institution.<br /><br /> In 2004, UNC basketball recruit JamesOn Curry was caught in a marijuana sting at his high school in Alamance and was pretty much dropped and abandoned by the UNC Family. It was a case in which a young undercover officer targeted the big-man-on-campus, and after repeated overtures the basketball star accepted the offer to engage in some minor marijuana- trafficking at the school and was busted. It was a blatant set-up, but no one (current or alum) from Carolina counseled the young man or provided legal representation.<br /><br /> However a fellow student also charged in the sting opted for legal representation and went to court, where his case was dimissed.<br />Curry, the all-time leading high school basketball scorer in the state of North Carolina, went on to enroll at Oklahoma State University and made a NCAA basketball tourney appearance. But he never got to fulfill his dream of playing for Carolina and representing the state.<br /><br /> Last February, Devon Ramsay had his eligibility restored by the NCAA after it initially declared him permanently ineligible amid the 2010-11 investigation of UNC Football. His mother, insistent that her son's transgression was minor and did not warrant being banned, hired a lawyer and the NCAA eventually acquiesced.<br /><br /> Michael McAdoo's case is similar to that of Ramsay's. McAdoo was found to have received about $100 in benefits to attend a party with a few teammates, and an hour (valued at $11) of improper help in reformatting a term paper by a graduate-student tutor.<br /><br /> That is why alum lawyers have come to his aid. What he did was so innocuous, and does not warrant a ban.<br /><br /> Overall, UNC's case is unprecedented in the annals of NCAA investigations. It is a case of improprieities literally being nipped in the bud before any benefit could be derived. Immediately upon disclosures (the Tweet and visit by NCAA investigators), players were interrogated and suspended; with those who initially were untruthful (including assistant coach John Blake) being dismissed.<br /><br /> It could be argued that Carolina's is a case in which penalties already have been meted out, and the case is or should be virutally a closed one. However, it should not be closed without redressing the unwarranted ban imposed on McAdoo by the NCAA.<br /><br /> Of course headlines state that the former football player is suing UNC as well as the NCAA. However, anyone should be able to see this is a case similar to a child suing a parent in order to get an insurance company to provide compensation that should be forthcoming. There are a lot of university officials and sports enthusiasts around the country watching this case, in the hope it will bring reform at the NCAA.goheelsnychttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05807692598563951508noreply@blogger.com