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With the NFL Draft starting tomorrow, there has been an increase in the coverage of the UNC-CH scandals.  Butch seems to be on a publicity tour on behalf of the players involved in the improper benefits and/or academic misconduct scandals. Today’s News and Record has several interesting quotes from Butch. The one that really stuck out to me:
“I know how honestly we handled it. We had three players who lost their eligibility. Instantly, as soon as it was declared they had unethical conduct and were not forthright and had not told the truth, we separated ourselves from them. That’s as much as you can do as an institution.”
Let’s look at that. I know what you are thinking — according to Butch wasn’t Marvin supposedly working his way back onto the team last fall?  Yes he was!  Check out this WRAL piece  from last September 20th, which contains this cool quote:
Marvin Austin remains suspended but Davis said there is still a possibility he may return.
“I obviously have optimism,†Davis said. “He’s working his way to get back on the practice field.â€
So today Butch says that Marvin was “instantly…separated” but last September 20th Butch’s story was that Marvin was “working his way to get back on the practice field” and Butch “obviously” had “optimism” about Marvin returning to the program?  I don’t see how today’s statement from Butch can possibly be considered consistent with his September 20th statement.
Furthermore, as you can see here, Butch and UNC-CH apparently had no trouble allowing Austin, Quinn, and Little back to the UNC-CH football facilites for their hilariously-named “Pro Day.” I don’t see the separation. In this piece, Baddour talks about letting the “separated” Austin, Quinn, and Little come back for “Pro Day.”Â
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I am going to use the rest of this entry to run some UNC-CH scandal material that broke during our coach search and therefore did not get run. So it is a little old but has not been covered here yet. This stuff will be presented in “bytes” format.
UNC-CH cornerback Charles Brown has to sit out their opener next year:
Brown accepted benefits in the amount of $86.94 before the 2010 season from an individual identified as a prospective agent. The Tar Heels held him out of competition to start last season, and Brown was officially ruled out for the year on Oct. 20.
Sitting Brown for the James Madison game shows that they really mean business over there.
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UNC-CH defensive end Linwan Euwall has left UNC-CH. He was wrapped up in the scandals somehow, although I forget in which prong(s). From the article linked above for the Brown information:
In other North Carolina football news, the school announced that defensive end Linwan Euwell has left school. He played in five games last season and was held out of the first five games in connection with the investigation.
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Butch says that the penalized players cried in the stands last year during games. From that article, we also get some news on McAdoo:
Rising senior defensive end Michael McAdoo was ruled permanently ineligible and will not be reinstated to play for his last season.
According to this, however, Team McAdoo is appealing the matter and is prepared to take the NCAA to court if necessary. Alert readers might notice the seemingly disproportional representation of UNC-CH defensive linemen in the scandals. Just off the top of my head, we have Austin, Quinn, McAdoo, and Euwell never playing at UNC-CH again.Â
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College football is broken now, and the people who broke it are going to have to fix it. Can they be trusted to do it? Or are they the problem?
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Agents are on the sidelines. Runners are in the classrooms. Boosters are in the pockets of the players. Coaches are lying to the media and the NCAA.
Almost every day you hear solutions. Pay the players. Institute a playoff system. Name a commissioner of college football. Make freshmen ineligible.
Here’s a better solution. Just fire Jim Tressel. Just fire Butch Davis. Just send John Junker to prison and wipe the Fiesta Bowl from the face of the earth. What happened to accountability?
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Wow!
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