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manalishi
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Posted: 7/15/2015 11:33 AM
Re: UNC Scandal: Day 1900
A short update of sorts before obiad…

Lawsuits –
There are two primary reasons the ncaa HAD to find fault with unc’s past transgressions.
One was to protect themselves (the ncaa) from some of the current lawsuits against them. (McCants/Ramsey, Haulsfield… there are some major implications tied up in there… you guys should really be paying more attention when st8dukegrad87 posts)
The almost catch-22 scenario the ncaa found themselves in was finding a way to fault unc, but at the same time not compromising their own position in those lawsuits. With the way the NOA was ultimately worded, the ncaa accomplished that goal.
Another reason for having to find fault in those past transgressions was due to immense pressure from certain other member institutions. (unc has vastly underestimated who its enemies are, in terms of the academic/athletic world)

The flow of information —
It’s well known that unc redacted a LOT of information from the supplementary documents of the NOA. Hmm… what if some of it was information that would completely nullify their current PR campaign? If/when the NOA ever becomes 100% public the school may be forced to face some very uncomfortable questions. And for those who say “we’ll never see the full NOA”… don’t be so sure.

On the flip side of that information flow: as has proven to be the case for several years now, unc’s decision makers do not know quite as much as they think they do.
The NCAA conducted interviews that were not included in the NOA.
That is a fact, not conjecture.
As much as unc (and its admin/PR) would like to think they are completely in the driver’s seat in terms of managing the entire “information” situation, the word “completely” simply does not apply.

PR approach —
As has been mentioned several times earlier on PP, the unc PR team outlined a specific plan of trying to sway public opinion – with one of the main results hopefully being the emotional manipulation of the COI. (there are other goals as well, which will be briefly touched on later)

Lying to recruits —
This is part verbal ambiguity on unc’s part, and part coordinated plan.
“Our lawyers told us” is an easy way for the coaches to blame someone else once they actually get hit with sanctions.
Also, for the coaches to say that their sports were not “specifically” named in the NOA is actually the truth. By definition, to be “specifically” named could be construed as being the ONLY one named. So no, men’s basketball was not “specifically” named in the NOA… it was named along with football, WBB, etc. (but oh, those redacted NOA docs…)

Interestingly, the stamp of approval for the use of that wording/phrase by the head coaches (not being “specifically” named) supposedly came all the way from the top, by the way.

Sanctions —
Going back to the lawsuits – the NCAA must protect itself on several fronts. As such, unc will face sanctions – both past and present.

The unc apologists will continue to boast and gloat for another 6-9 months, following the fallacy that is being spread through PR. When the sanctions are finally announced, reality will set in for many. (though the PR approach – the “other goals” mentioned above – supposedly has a few contingency plans to try and ease the pain)
Those apologists who swear there will be no sanctions are either buying the PR spin (which is not entirely their fault), or they simply aren’t very intelligent (again, not entirely their fault. It’s awfully hard to change a DNA strand).
It is what it is, and their current perception of the situation is not worth the energy to try and change.

However… the people who hope for sanctions (on this board, and elsewhere) BUT for whatever reason keep saying “they are going to skate”… those people are extremely, disappointingly foolish.
Pure common sense regarding the facts should be all you need. Unc is going to get hit. Past and present.

When the final word comes down, there will inevitably still be some who cry it’s not enough. Hey, it’s the MB of PP. A lack of complaining would be totally out of character, right?
But the goals will have been met.

And here’s the thing: if you are one of the ones who wants to complain about the final verdict (though I’d wager the vast majority will be happy), then all I can say is that I’m sorry. If you feel they should “get the death penalty! Drop a daisy cutter on them! Pull their accreditation! Give them 20 years of probation and vacate all victories back to 1980!”… well, again, I’m sorry. There is a thing called taking initiative, and there have been MULTIPLE opportunities to actually do something useful over the past five years.
Complaining and whining about things not being fair, yet never having done anything to actually help out matters, is IMO a mixture of self-pity and worthlessness. I’m not interested in either.
Sorry… enough of that sort of negativity. Moving on.

One final note on their PR —
They have literally spent millions over the past few years, paying people to help them craft certain messages, to bury the paperwork process under legal loopholes, and so forth.
Every person they have hired (save for a few fanboy lawyers) has had money as his/her primary interest. “I’ll do my best to give you want you want; keep writing those checks.”
But is a merc’s “best” effort truly a passionate, exemplary effort, if your heart is not in it?

Compare that with what has been exposed against unc. The key difference: done by an (arguably) equally-capable group of skillsets, yet done for passion and an ethical cause – not for money. That’s likely been one of the differences over the past five years, with regards to results. Millions of dollars can buy work, but it can’t always buy an impassioned effort.

Let me put things another way: For the past 24 months or so, everything has gone pretty much as planned. Whose plan?… Exactly.

More updates —
If there are ever other happenings… yet they are not being shared… then there are always very good reasons for not commenting publicly on them.
Bigger hands are now molding this piece of clay.
As always… just try and be patient.

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