First of all, major kudos to Mark Armstrong of WTVD for getting UNC “Chancellor” Holden Thorp to comment on last week’s revelation that a large part of Michael McAdoo’s was potentially plagiarized.
Armstrong has done a great job throughout the last 12 months consistently covering each and every break in the scandal.
Anyways…in Thorp’s comments(an email?) to Armstrong, UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp admitted tonight that the message board of PackPride did more research on McAdoo’s paper than the UNC did during their review.
‘You’re right. Nobody checked it, and I wish we had because we wouldn’t have said so strongly in the appeal hearing that the paper was his work.’
If you don’t remember, then here are some quotes directly from UNC representatives during McAdoo’s appeal with the NCAA:
UNC legal Counsel Steve Keady(help again from Packpride):
So what happened here was Michael completed his Swahili paper then he asked Jennifer for help with the citations and as I think you will hear he wanted help because he was worried about plagiarism; he knew that you have to cite ideas that are not yours…
…This work reflects his ideas exclusively. It is not a rip off. This really is his work.
Are Thorp and Dickie Baddour going to make a statement now that they are sorry they trusted Steve Keady?
To help people remember, UNC released Jennifer Wiley in 2009 from the academic support program for what UNC representatives called in the McAdoo hearing being too close with at least 1 student. The theory in having that policy is to avoid potential academic fraud. Yet despite UNC having a reason to believe fraud may have occurred in 2009 due to the inappropriate relationship of Wiley and a student, UNC didn’t investigate to see if any academic fraud actually occurred. The start of a trend.
Anyone wonder why there was no investigation? Or how UNC allowed Butch Davis to hire Wiley to work for him personally which led to Wiley providing more “tutoring” and improper benefits in the form of money(plane ticket and paid for parking tickets) after she had to be released by UNC from the academic-support program?
Back to last night’s bombshell from Thorp – without McAdoo’s lawsuit, then the plagiarism discovery never happens on Packpride which led to multiple stories nationwide. For some reason, it took more time for the local paper to put something in print(Saturday) than Statefansnation, Sports Illustrated, the Daily Tarheel, SportsbyBrooks, and several others.
How can an attorney and an athletics director go into a hearing with the NCAA to claim adamantly that a paper is the work of a student when neither had apparently read the paper in question? Mindboggling. Whatever the reason, heads should roll in Chapel Hill if anyone over there cares the least bit about academic integrity. I can only think of three reasons not to review the paper prior to the hearing:
1. Incompetence.
2. Wanting to avoid what might might be discovered if the paper was read
3. Knew the paper was plagiarized, but figured the NCAA and public would never know because the paper would never be released.
The best case for UNC is another example of incompetence. Butch Davis has already set an incredible standard because somehow Butch had no idea any of these issues were occurring in his program while being the first head coach in the history of college athletics to employ a runner/agent on his staff as an associate head coach/recruiting coordinator. However, Thorp, Dickie, Keady, and the “Honor Court” have approached the standard Davis set with not discovering the plagiarism.
Or did they simply not expect the paper to ever become public?
Even if this latest blunder by UNC was only incompetence (after already not investigating these academic issues in 2009), then UNC has proven incapable of discovering the truth in this investigation. The head football coach didn’t control his players, his associate head coach, or his tutor. All of that happened supposedly without him knowing anything. The honor court, chancellor, athletic director and legal counsel didn’t discover blatant plagiarism that took message board posters less than 5 minutes with a couple of web searches. Again, nobody knew anything.
What about all of the other players who were “cleared” and then allowed to play last season? The fact that they didn’t read McAdoo’s paper brings into question each and every investigation handled by UNC so far. How can the public feel confident that UNC has discovered the truth when the only investigation that has been fully disclosed to the public has been proven incomplete or fraudulent?
Clearly, an independent investigation is necessary to get to the truth. This scandal has shown that cracks exist in the foundation of the entire university. Administrators have refused to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests withholding information that the people of NC have a right to see. They have proven, at best, incapable of investigating themselves and discovering the truth. At this point, nothing any representative at UNC has said can be accepted as fact.
It is time for someone in this state to stand up and do what is right. Don’t hold your breath.
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