[10:30pm] Brown out for year, Burney out for Miami, maybe more (Day 97)

UNC Scandal39

UNC-CH announced late today that Kendric Burney will not play Saturday against Miami and that Charles Brown will not play at all this year.  Here is the ACCNow report.

I am totally blown away by UNC’s actions regarding Burney over the last few days.  The folks in Chapel Hill are really outdoing even themselves on this one!  Those of you who read our great entry last night know the story of what has been developing here.

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Briefly restated, the facts as best we can put together are as follows:  After serving a 6-game suspension for violations discovered by the NCAA related to taking improper benefits (from an unstated source – agents? boosters? administrators?) Kendric Burney apparently went before the UNC honor court where he was handed the MINIMUM punishment allowable – he received an “F” in a class in a past semester because of CHEATING.  (You really should click here to see how Burney was treated better than ‘usual’ in the UNC code.)

Burney was taking a whopping 3 hours of classes this semester because that’s all he needed to quote-unquote “graduate.”  The NCAA grants waivers to play while taking less than 12 hours only if you are in your last semester and are taking enough to complete your degree.  But now Burney has a problem — that retroactive “F” he got for CHEATING now puts him in a situation where he is not taking enough hours to quote-unquote “graduate” (while also taking less than 12 hours.)  Ooops!  He is now ineligible. 

BUT — and this is the part that just blows me away — UNC’s ‘leadership’ apparently worked a deal to utilize a loophole and let Burney add a 3-hour course with just over one month of the semester remaining before final exams so that he can suit up to represent the public ivy and carry the banner of the “Carolina Way” on the football field for the rest of the season. 

Yesterday, UNC’s secret plan made its way into the public consciousness via internet message boards and quotes from Burney to some news outlets. The rumored result from some sources in Chapel Hill indicated to SFN that the department head who had originally approved the idea got cold feet once the sunshine hit. (Note that none of the sunshine came from any ‘mainstream media’ pursing the story &/or editorializing this atrocious ‘leadership’). What is amazing is that Chancellor Holden Thorp and Dick Baddour apparently supported this awful idea and helped push it through until the truth made its way to the internet.

Burney was suspended from play by the NCAA for taking improper benefits. How did the UNC administration punish Burney for CHEATING?  Answer: They didn’t. None at all. In fact, UNC-CH REWARDED Burney’s cheating by working hard so he could add some BS class more than halfway through the semester so he could get on the field!?  Where are the adults over there?  Does anybody have the balls to put an end to the athletic department’s outwardly renegade behavior?

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Given that Burney has apparently been found guilty of both academic cheating AND of taking improper benefits from (at least) Chris Hawkins (who is considered an agent by the NCAA), let’s take a look at some words from Thorp this past August, as quoted in an N & O piece:

”It’s a privilege to put on the North Carolina uniform and represent this university,” Thorp said, “and it’s our job to make sure that the people who do so have earned that privilege.”

In light of Burney’s actions, how in the world can he have “earned that privilege”?  By going to Vegas with Hawkins?  Through academic cheating?  Yet UNC must think that he has “earned that privilege” because they are bending over backwards trying to get him on the field by hook or by crook.

Today some more stuff broke regarding Burney.  After rumors on IC swirled all morning that Burney would be back on the field this Saturday (through the “add a class late” gambit I assume), Mark Armstrong started Tweeting some interesting information.  By the way, Armstrong has done one of the better jobs of keeping people informed about this story, and I might suggest following his Twitter account for breaking news like this.  Anyway here is a Tweet from Armstrong that gives a good status update:

Burney has one lifeline to potentially save his season – otherwise he’s done. He’s petitioning the NCAA to allow his lower courseload…. 40 minutes ago via TweetDeck

Reading between the lines — the “add a class late” gambit failed and now UNC has asked the NCAA to allow Burney to play with a sub-12-hour course load even though it is not his last semester (due to the retroactive “F” he received via the honor court for cheating.)  I could write all night about this.  Does UNC not know that everyone is watching and how bad this looks?  Do they know and not care?  You want my guess?  I think they have done these sorts of things (and probably these exact things) for so long that they don’t think anything of them.  This is normal behavior for them that they have been getting away with for DECADES.

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The following are a few of our favorite short-and-sweet synopses of these developments from message board posters from various sites:

So you basically have a guy that just admitted to cheating. The athletic side responds by allowing Burney to work out a behind the scenes deal that just ensures more preferential treatment. Yeah, I can see that Baddour and Thorp really “get it.”

What is fascinating to me is that never once in all of this sh*tstorm does it appear that UNC remotely has thought of actually disciplining players on their own. Every ‘disciplining’ action is just a reaction to make sure they don’t get in NCAA trouble.

It appears that Burney has been taking money from agents & maybe boosters. He has broken multiple NCAA rules and helped get the school in trouble. He also has been ‘convicted’ of by the Honor Court of committing academic fraud.

Yet….for every one of these players who have broken multiple rules, the University’s position is to work as hard as they can to absolve the players and get them eligible to get them on the field. Great leadership guys!! Way to teach those kids lessons about consequences!!!

You’ve also got to wonder the specifics on Sturdivant and Bruce Carter and the loop hole that has allowed those players to get back on the field unpunished? If you’re a football player at UNC, from here on out you know that worst punishment you’re going to get for cheating is an “F”. No on field punishment. That’s a hell of a precedent to set! At any other school you are gone for 3 games to a year.

As stuff like this comes to light, you have to wonder whether some of the folks in charge see how long the USC investigation took and figure they might not be around when the final rulings come in, so why not try to get as many kids as they can on the field as quickly as possible and let the next crew handle the fallout?

Just goes to show the power of the internet, 15 years ago, this Burney situation never sees the light of day and he’d be playing without question in Coral Gables.

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Before I talk about Brown, here is a super-cool Tweet from Burney talking about what a great time he had in Vegas with Chris Hawkins:

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Regarding Brown, there is much less detail currently available.  But the WRAL report contains an interesting detail:

Brown, a true senior, has the ability to redshirt and will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Hmmmm.  So UNC plans to use redshirt years as a “work around” to avoid suspensions?  Is anyone surprised?  There were rumblings early in the week that Houston might be redshirted under circumstances that appear similar.   Using a redshirt year due to academic difficulties is obviously commonplace everywhere.  But Brown’s seems to be a situation involving a suspension due one or both of the scandal prongs.  Is this even NCAA-legal?   I mean, if UNC can skirt Brown’s suspension this way, Brown would end up missing no actual games — he would still get his normal 4 years of play within 5 years. 

Stay tuned on that one.

I would highly encourage you to click here for some special video and highlights of Charles Brown from when we told you IN AUGUST that he was done for the year. Today is October 20th, and this news is just now hitting the mainstream and being reported/confirmed. Gee…how could anyone be wondering/complaining about the lack of hard work and reporting being done in the local media?

The following is an excellent action shot of Brown from last year:

Picture from the News and Observer.

UNC Scandal

39 Responses to [10:30pm] Brown out for year, Burney out for Miami, maybe more (Day 97)

  1. Sam92 10/21/2010 at 9:40 AM #

    that’s a great post – great reporting, actually.

    my biggest concern about all this is that i’m afraid unc isn’t really getting scrutiny on this. sure, we’re on to it, but are the newspapers? or other media in NC? is the university system administration on to this? or are they all interested in sweeping it under the carpet because most of them are in fact UNC grads?

  2. packalum08 10/21/2010 at 9:46 AM #

    It all makes sense now. The reason the higher-ups are so reticent to punish the players for their academic transgressions is that they ultimately feel it is not the players’ faults. If what Waffle posted is correct (and we have no reason to doubt him) then there truly was an institutional acceptance of CHEATING. The staff and administration likely assured parents and players that everything was within boundaries, etc. When the NCAA came knocking and started investigating, the truth came to light. This left the administration with two options:

    1. Blame the players and punish them. This looks the best and suggests no LOIC, but because the players know what they were told, UNC football loses its luster as a program that takes care of you. Players start talking, recruits start leaving, etc.

    2. Blame themselves. While they may publicly blame the players for the agent issues (another story), the administration has been much less willing to throw players under the bus for the academic issues. And this is because the coaches and administration ran the system and promised that it was good. When it came crumbling down, working as hard as they can to get players back on the field is the ONLY way they keep the players on their side.

  3. WIFF 10/21/2010 at 10:18 AM #

    I think PackAlum’s 2nd option is on the money. The players were put into a system that used cheating as part of the program. Most of them probably never even had to do anything. They just were given the illegal academic benefits so they went along with it. Now that the heat is on, the administrators cannot hang the players out to dry because one of them might say “Hey, I just went to study hall and they gave us the papers/answers”. In order to prevent their entire corrupt system from being exposed, the coaches are doing everything they can to keep the players on their side by trying to get them on the field.

  4. TAEdisonHokie 10/21/2010 at 10:28 AM #

    packalum08 – Neither one of the options you described in your post will result in anything good for the UNC administration. The horses disappeared over the horizon long before they got around to attempting to close the gate.

    Option #1: Players, and their parents, are already talking to the NCAA, and possibly the NC SoS, about various facets of the scandal. Some of that is already leaking out to the media.

    Option #2: It really doesn’t matter if the UNC administration blames themselves or not at this point in time. The ship has already struck the iceberg and no amount of damage control is going to save her. The officers will go down with the ship.

    If the UNC administration had bitten the bullet early in the process by suspending/dismissing a few players and firing Davis, Blake, and Pittman, they might have had a chance to limit the scope of the NCAA investigation. Too late now…FAR too late.

  5. packalum08 10/21/2010 at 10:32 AM #

    I agree completely, TAEdison. What I was to convey was that, because of the way the system was set up, the administration COULD NOT do the right thing (option 1) AND save UNC football at the same time, which would require keeping current players and recruits on board. They’ve made their bed. Now we get to watch them lie in it!

  6. Hungwolf 10/21/2010 at 10:59 AM #

    I got to agree with SFN on Brown, if he gets to play four years, then he never really missed any games or was suspeneded for any games. I would think the NCAA would see this as not in the spirit of their intent to punish the player.

  7. packfan03 10/21/2010 at 12:33 PM #

    This website is the shiznit. Keep up the good work!

    It amazes me (although it shouldn’t, at this point) that the mainstream media refuses to discuss the sociopathic behavior coming from the top at UNC. Their interest lies in the most favorable outcome for themselves – regardless of what ethical boundaries they have to crush along the way.

    It’s disgusting. My only comfort is that the insiders (that have nailed info from the beginning, not IC) continue to stress that a *#$%STORM is coming.

  8. StateFans 10/21/2010 at 1:31 PM #

    packfan03, thanks for the kind words. We encourage everyone to pass the word to your friends and help us grow. It is the only way that we can continue to exist.

    There are some FANTASTIC comments in this – and all – entries.

  9. bradleyb123 10/21/2010 at 1:50 PM #

    There’s a new article out at WRAL that seems to be giving people hope for Butch and the football program. Considering it was written by a homer from IC, I don’t see how it should give anyone any hope.

    Check it out…

    http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/story/8488243

  10. wvillepack 10/21/2010 at 2:16 PM #

    Just spoke with a UNC student that interned here the past two summers. He said a lot of student body discusted with players, coaches, and admin. They feel that students who cheat or break ncaa rules should lose their scholarship…goodbye….go away. Maybe the adults on the hill should listen to the kids.

  11. bradleyb123 10/21/2010 at 5:02 PM #

    ^^ wvillepack, I can’t agree more with that last sentence.

  12. ADVENTUROO 10/21/2010 at 7:50 PM #

    WRAL and the N&O are reporting on a “Butch Davis” Support poll. Public Policy Polling conducted a “scientific” poll that found that more than half don’t want to fire Coach Davis. As a political junkie, I have followed PPP’s polls for quite sometime. If you go to Real Clear Politics and look at the polling results for the Burr-Marshall race, you will note that PPP has a big “D” next to their name. They are considered to be a Democratic FUNDED polling agengy. In addition, if you look at the Burr-Marshall poll data for the past several months, you will note that PPP’s data is quite skewed as compared to Rassmussen and SurveyUSA. Thus, a Democratic funded polling agency was employed by “SOMEONE” (perhaps a Democratically controlled Board of Trustees) to conduct a “Scientific” poll to determine what the “public” wants to do about Coach Davis. If you follow the links, there are some interesting “irregularities” in the survey group….but I will leave that to you to research and decide.

    As a taxpayer, I wonder WHO is paying PPP to do this poll? I CERTAINLY hope it is the Ram’s Club and NOT the BOT. The results make for good discussion…..but remember the old adage…..”Figures DON’T LIE…but Liars CAN FIGURE…..”.

    Most of the middle of the road UNC fans that I talk to are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the overall program….and are beginning to wonder about the managerial experience of Coach Davis. The increased likelihood of LOIC penalities have dampened their enthusiasm and also closed their check books. They stated that the 4 page letter with their ticket package this year was totally BS. One lady, who said that she had a business degree and and MBA could NOT make heads or tails of it….and therefore, she was NOT including the
    Ram’s Club in her budget next year. Many are also concerned about the ticket prices for the long time, NON BIG DONORS….so “there you go….”

    As an aside, you have got to show some respect for the Tarheel players that are eligible and are on the field. They have a good record despite all the publicity that is going to their teammates. They are playing under a lot of adversity….and doing well. My hat is off to them for rising above all the fray and just doing their job. I will also preface that to say that I sincerely HOPE that those that are playing DO meet all the NCAA and UNC eligibility standards.

    GO PACK….

  13. highstick 10/21/2010 at 9:59 PM #

    My hat is off to any Tarheel fan who “gets it”. Regretfully, most of my associates seem to want to avoid conversation or if prodded, don’t have a clue what is going on..We need a picture of a bunch of Carolina Blue Ostriches with their heads in the sand..

  14. PackerInRussia 10/22/2010 at 6:02 AM #

    “Granting a redshirt for a year suspension for violating NCAA rules is a clear message that they are willing to comply with the letter but not the spirit of the NCAA rules.”

    I remember Coach Roy denying any hint of wrong-doing about being present when Obama played ball with the team several years ago. I believe the line was something along the lines of, “this may have violated the letter of the rules, but not the spirit of the rules.” I guess Butch and Baddour didn’t listen very closely. You may violate the letter; not the spirit.

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