NC Senator Thom Goolsby sounds off on UNC Fraud

It’s taken a few years and a public announcement from a UNC whistleblower but we finally have the first public statement from a member of the NC General Assembly (at least the first I can recall) on the wide reaching fraud at the esteemed flagship. NC Senator Thom Goolsby penned a column posted today lambasting UNC and their response to the deepening scandal comparing the situation to a “pesky staph infection that just won’t go away”: UNC Academic Fraud Merits Criminal Probe. And he doesn’t hold much back attacking the UNC Administration, and notably, the NCAA.

It’s the gladiators who bring crowds to the arena and it should surprise no one that schools will do whatever it takes to field the best possible team. What is shameful is the continued smokescreen produced by the UNC administration around this scandal. Academic fraud has prompted no less than four investigations at UNC. One is currently being led by former Governor Jim Martin. So far the governing body of college sports, the NCAA, has not sullied its hands in the most recent fraud revelations.

In Senator Goolsby’s opinion, it is past time for the adults in this situation (aka, not anyone from UNC’s Administration) to get involved. He prompts the local DA’s office to begin a criminal probe.

It is past time for a criminal investigation into these fraudulent activities. For far too long, academic scandals have been treated with the soft glove approach.  The local district attorney’s office should begin an immediate criminal probe. If the DA does not wish to handle this matter, he should request that the Attorney General appoint a Special Prosecutor to handle this case.

If necessary, the General Assembly could consider legislation to make prosecuting this type of academic fraud easier.

WHOA! Huge news here. Senator Goolsby is not taking any prisoners essentially calling out the local District Attorney, the UNC Administration, the NCAA, and the UNC Board of Trustees. And he adds to that with a statement that should frighten all those who are involved: the GA could be compelled to action.

So who is Senator Goolsby? Given his aggressive stance on the issue, you might say he’s a tried-and-true Wolfpack red blood. A quick search yields the opposite. Senator Goolsby graduated from the Citidel with his bachelor’s degree and went on to receive his JD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nothing more needs to be said about the credibility that the twice-elected Senator possesses. He likely sees this issue as a poison not just to the university that he holds a degree, but to the educational environment across the state that he serves. In fact, Senator Goolsby serves on the Senate Education/Higher Education Committee. This column may not sound good to the average UNC Wal-Mart fan, but it has to finally be music to the ears of those UNC degree holders that have watched its beloved institution taken repeatedly behind the woodshed for disgraceful reasons.

What Senator Goolsby is proposing just might be the hard-to-swallow pill that will cleanse out the remnants of a 2-year infection. If UNC is smart, they’ll swallow quickly before the General Assembly is compelled to action.

 

 

UNC Scandal

35 Responses to NC Senator Thom Goolsby sounds off on UNC Fraud

  1. Master 11/20/2012 at 9:16 PM #

    There is a massive cover up going on and someone will pay a massive penalty unless they turn states evidence on the real culprits. This thing has not gotten smaller, just quieter.

  2. wolfpack4ever 11/20/2012 at 9:23 PM #

    Especially with the last two election cycle results, the left wing, liberal crooks will no longer control Raleigh.

    Therefore, they cannot extend the cover for the most liberal, gay loving, cheating sesspool of a journalism school east of San Francisco.

    Now is the time for action by Mr. Goolsby and others to be able to demand accountability for tax payer money. However, if enough time lapses, money will flow behind the scenes to quell government intervention.

    Power and money will corrupt most politicians no matter their good intentions or party affiliations. So sad.

    My apologies to any that I may have offended by my obvious lack of “political correctness”. All taxpayers in the state should be offended by what has transpired at the hole.

  3. gtspack 11/20/2012 at 9:47 PM #

    Thom lives in Wilmington and I have had the opportunity twice to speak to him. GREAT GUY!!!. Die hard conservative. He is on a local talk radio show (in Wilmington). I love his views.

  4. PackerInRussia 11/21/2012 at 3:17 AM #

    UNC’s strategy to this point has been to build high walls and defend the fortress. And I think it’s been a successful approach. It will be interesting to see what happens if the walls start to crumble. Will people begin to turn on each other to save themselves or will loyalty win out and they go down with the ship? I think the answer to that depends on the seriousness of potential punishment. Right now, it seems like there’s nothing to lose. The weaker the punishment, the less the risk. But, once individuals start feeling the heat (and if the talk of prosecution is more than just “talk”), people may decide that the ship’s not worth going down for.

  5. WilmyWolf 11/21/2012 at 7:48 AM #

    Well I guess I can start disliking Thom a little less now. At least he isn’t as insufferable as Ilario Pantano was

  6. surfingwolf 11/21/2012 at 9:16 AM #

    I sent Thom a note of thanks for his courage, and he was kind enough to take the time to return the email within 24 hours, and I’m no longer one of his constituents.

    Super cool that he went to see Matisyahu!!!! I didn’t even realize he was in the area… feel pretty heartbroken I missed it.

    I know of Thom through business and social connections, and I sincerely think he’s a good guy.

    I say if he continues to be a voice of reason and justice… SFN makes a nice littel campaign contribution next time.

    As I said to him… a LOT more than fair play in athletics rides on the breakup of the powers enforcing the status quo.

  7. gumby 11/21/2012 at 11:51 AM #

    Maybe I missed something, but I fail to see how any form of “gay-loving” references contributes to this discussion.

  8. Clarksa 11/21/2012 at 1:19 PM #

    Should we encourage him to look into the appointments to the UNC BOG? There needs to be some equal representation there…

  9. graywolf 11/21/2012 at 2:28 PM #

    This is action that is long overdue. I hope that there is more than written word because the flagship needs to learn that they are not above the law of the land.

  10. WolftownVA81 11/21/2012 at 6:14 PM #

    From the link: “As reporters at the Raleigh News and Observer continue to dig, they uncover more and more dirty little secrets. The latest problems swirl around a pus pocket called the Academic Support Program.”

    Pus Pocket, an apt description of the academic support system at U*NCheat.

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