The 'Jewel in the Crown'

Published July 7, 2015

by Carter Wrenn, Talking About Politics, July 6, 2015.

When the scandal broke five years ago – after a ‘tweet’ by a tackle on the football team – the wise men at UNC faced a choice: Fess-up or cover-up.

They covered-up.

And eight media organizations sued because they wouldn’t make public records available to the press.

Three months later, skating on thinner and thinner ice, the wise men offered up a sacrificial lamb: A tutor to the football team. Who was fired.

Next they offered up an assistant football coach – who was also fired. Star football players started falling left and right and, then, the thread ran straight to Julius Nyang’oro – the Chairman of the African American Studies Department at UNC.

The football coach was fired.

And the next day the Athletic Director resigned.

Nyang’oro resigned as head of the African-American Studies Department but remained as a professor.

Mary Willingham, a whistle blower, reported she’d tutored football players who could only read at a 4th grade level and a basketball player, Rashad McCants, told ESPN he rarely went to class and tutors wrote his papers.

UNC attacked Willingham.

And the Chancellor resigned.

Battered and bruised UNC began its second investigation – The Wainstein Report. Nyang’oro cut a deal to cooperate with Wainstein and resigned. And Nyang’oro’s assistant (who’d already retired) cut a deal too.

When Wainstein was done he reported three thousand UNC students had taken phony classes over the last two decades.

Jan Boxill, head of the Faculty Committee and the Parr Center for Ethics, resigned.

And Mary Willingham, the whistle blower, received a $335,000 out of court settlement from UNC.

SACS – the accrediting agency – put UNC on one year probation. The new Chancellor reassured the community that wasn’t so bad. And said reforms would fix all the problems – but what the reforms are isn’t so clear.

And after two decades of giving students phony classes, UNC’s still proclaiming itself one of the finest universities on earth – and the jewel in the crown of the state.

http://www.talkingaboutpolitics.com

July 7, 2015 at 9:43 am
Norm Kelly says:

Truly sad that such games are played with peoples lives. And truly sad that so much was known but covered up by virtually all that were involved. Most sad that so much trust is put in government employees who turned out NOT to have the best interest of either the university, the students, nor the state in mind for decades.

Why is it that so much goes on in the halls of government yet so many people put their trust in government? I'm told on a regular basis that my priorities are mixed up. I'd rather deal with an independent, private business than a government institution any day. If you still believe in government, go visit your local DMV office and then tell me what you think. Or if you are a veteran, visit the socialist VA Health care system that you are virtually locked into, then tell me how government works for you!

When I deal with ANY government agency I am dealing with a monopoly. Their attitude generally reflects the fact that they KNOW they are a (protected) monopoly. Whenever government gets involved in any area of life that they are not supposed to be, they always create a monopoly. Witness alcohol sales and the lottery. At the same time that sheriffs around the state were lobbying the legislature to remove private gambling machines/businesses, the legislature was implementing state-sponsored gambling. Bad for private business to allow gambling. Good for the state to not just allow gambling, but promote gambling. All gambling competition is squashed by the state in order for the state to be the monopoly.

Then there's things like utilities. I can pick and choose my Internet service provider fairly easily. I can play one provider against another to get the best package for me at the best price for me. And if one of the providers irritates me, does something with the service that I prefer not to 'take advantage' of, I can simply change to another service provider. What's your choice when dealing with a government monopoly? And once a government monopoly is established, it is defended totally. And even worse, it's not just defended but constantly expanded.

Truly sad that UNC failed students so miserably. Truly sad that UNC failed tax payers so miserably. Truly sad that those who weren't responsible were forced by administration to pay the price!

But what's truly sad about this entire situation? It's not the cover up. It's not the lies. It's not the waste of tax dollars. All are bad enough. But the worst part is that this is not unique to UNC. This game is played throughout the country. And administration in universities across the nation absolutely know it's happening. And they all cover it up. And they all defend it. It's just that UNC was caught. Public education at every level is over-populated with education careerists. Education bigots do everything they can to prevent 'outsiders' from getting involved in education. A government monopoly. Defended to the hilt. Always expanding or at least attempting to expand. And always trying to eliminate any form of competition. Or oversight. Or changes. And always, it seems, working against the common good.

July 7, 2015 at 9:48 am
Jacob Jacob says:

Pretty good summary only you left out that NCAA returned to campus for a second investigation and UNC received the NOA. UNC heavily redacted any reference to Roy, MBB, and FB before they released the NOA to the public so they could lie to recruits. Currently Roy and Fedora are saying MBB and FB was not mentioned in the NOA and will receive no further sanctions and that only WBB will be punished by NCAA. Who believes that this 20 year old cheating scheme was created solely to be benefit Sylvia and the women's basketball team? Ha!

July 7, 2015 at 10:19 am
Ricky Evans says:

Lots of important details omitted, but if Mr. Wrenn intended this as a brief summary for millennials and low information readers, he has done an EXCELLENT job of hitting the nail on the head at a level they are likely to understand.

The allegedly smart "powers that be" in Chapel Hill who continue to fight the overwhelming proof of one of the largest scandals in American Collegiate history remind me of the legendary tales where occasionally someone would encounter a Japanese soldier on a deserted South Pacific island who was still fighting WWII because he had not heard it was over 20 years ago.

July 7, 2015 at 1:12 pm
Francis McGill says:

Who in their right mind can read that summary and not agree that UNC is all in on the worst sports related cover-up in NCAA history? And also North Carolina, the state history? How many $Millions have been taken away from education to perpetuate an incredibly corrupt system for the love of sports?

If UNC were run by academics, the reason UNC was founded, they would have cleaned house and fired every coach who's sport was named in the NOA and Wainstein report. Prove to our citizens their tax money is for education and not to prop up ESPN & Nike. Any self-respecting university would say 'enough is enough' and cut the head off the snake. But five years later, after having received one of the most damming NOA and SACS reports ever, UNC instead extends the biggest cheater's contract and pours money into legal fees and PR campaigns. They pay people to plant newspaper articles, even comments in periodcals like this...also hourly employees are walking the campus, peering in windows to be certain classes are real and not fake. How can an academic not be outraged when an eyeball is checking to make sure they are really teaching a class? Public Ivy? What?

If UNC was serious about cleaning up their act and returning to education, a major turnover in the athletic department would have proactively taken place already. When the Ram's Club fat cats call the shots and feeble leaders like Folt and the jock-sniffing BOG follow their direction, moral values have completely disappeared. I weep for our education system and the sorry state it's become.

July 7, 2015 at 2:20 pm
Alan Justus says:

UNC cheated and got caught. UNC then proceeded to lie, cover up, and give the finger to everyone. Why would a supposedly outstanding university do so? And why would supposedly honorable members of the BOT and BOG let them do so? There's only one answer. The unstated mission of this disgraced university is not knowledge and academics. It is protect and defend at all cost the men's basketball team. Those dadgum banners hanging in the Smith Center (named after a now proven rules bender coach) are more important to the powers that be in Chapel Hill (and sadly our state) than the integrity and reputation of the university. They even convinced a former NC governor to participate in the cover up. The cesspool in Chapel Hill is deep and putrid. Does anyone have the power, and more importantly the ethical fortitude, to load the UNC coaches, AD, chancellor, provost, admissions officers, academic support staff, faculty, BOT, and BOG on a big blue bus and drop them off at the city limit sign and dare them to not return until they repent of their athletic/ academic sins?