UNC Chapel Hill should sanction self hard to finally leave scandal behind
Published June 7, 2015
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, June 6, 2015.
If UNC Chapel Hill officials really are serious about putting academics above athletics, they will finally start to shut their athletic/academic scandal down by imposing hard sanctions on its athletics before the NCAA acts – including vacating victories and titles and taking ineligibility for some post-season action.
The NCAA wouldn’t have to recognize those self-imposed sanctions. But the public would.
The school should do whatever it takes to show the only thing that matters is restoring honor and dignity. And yes, that could well entail a loss of face for the celebrated men’s basketball team, a team for which some on our editorial board have long rooted. But sometimes an institution has to lose itself to find itself, to get back to its true mission.
The vague notice of NCAA allegations that UNC released Thursday raised more questions than it answered. But one thing is for sure: It dragged this once-proud school through the mud one more time, leading to nationwide rehashes of the scandal, with its no-show classes and all the rest.
Now the school will lawyer-up and likely use every bit of the 90 days allotted to it to produce its response to the NCAA. During that cycle and after, we’ll hear more and more about how big-money athletics strangled Carolina’s honor. Reporters will keep digging, publicizing details that the school should have released.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Chancellor Carol Folt and company could quickly come out with some hard sanctions on athletics and, once and for all, release every last detail they know about this scandal to the public and profusely apologize. Then people would really believe them when they say it’s time to put this in the past and move forward together.
But that, of course, won’t happen.
Carolina lives in the real world of Big Money athletics. And it’s killing them.
Here is the joint statement UNC CH Chancellor Carol Folt and Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham released Thursday.
“We take the allegations the NCAA made about past conduct very seriously. This is the next step in a defined process, and we are a long way from reaching a conclusion. We will respond to the notice using facts and evidence to present a full picture of our case. Although we may identify some instances in the NCAA’s notice where we agree and others where we do not, we are committed to continue pursuing a fair and just outcome for Carolina.
“We believe the University has done everything possible to address the academic irregularities that ended in 2011 and prevent them from recurring. We have implemented more than 70 re-forms and initiatives to ensure and enhance academic integrity. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of those measures and, wherever needed, put additional safeguards in place.”
