N & O cramps Butch’s style (Updated 10:35am)

If you have any Tar Heel friends, then you have noticed by now how delusional they are regarding the impending sanctions.  You have most certainly heard their delusional talking points that “nothing is going to happen to us because we have been so co-operative with the NCAA.” Which is funny on many levels because they haven’t been remotely cooperative with the press or anyone else who has asked a question…and, because NC State was so cooperative with NCAA investigators in the late 1980s that the head of the NCAA’s investigative team wrote an unprecedented letter that, in part, highlighted the environment of access and openness that Jim Valvano and NC State created. Out of curiosity…did the NCAA take it easy on NC State for all of that cooperation?

Damn facts and precedent! But, I digress.

As we highlighted just the other day, Butch Davis (and staff) continue to lie tell both recruits and alumni that nothing is going to happen to UNC-CH in this NCAA investigation. In the absence of common sense and appropriate media coverage they could get away with it. But today the N & O helped the pursuit of truth with a few articles that discuss and analyze the impending sanctions. Hopefully every recruit in the country gets multiple copies of this article and is forced to listen and think about it as opposed to drinking Butch’s kool-aid blindly.

This is the main article.  My favorite quote is:

The NCAA’s next move, though, will be to sift through the violations and determine penalties. And UNC could self-impose sanctions in anticipation of NCAA action.

Michael Buckner, a Florida lawyer who advises schools in NCAA probes but is not involved in the UNC situation, said North Carolina can expect stiff sanctions.

“This case is unique, both because of the number of athletes involved and certainly because of the number who have been declared ineligible,” he said.

Neither he nor an NCAA spokeswoman, when contacted Tuesday, could cite examples of schools that had five or more players permanently banned from play.

Of course, anyone who has been following this from the beginning will get a fantastic laugh from this one:

UNC athletic director Dick Baddour said the end is in sight

At least this time he didn’t say ‘the end is in sight…probably by next Friday’ as Butch & Baddour have said for six months now. When will the Tar Heel faithful – or media – ever call them on this!?

The N & O also provided this table explaining the status of the individual players and this list of the individuals missing.

Also, this is a look at what sanctions other programs have received and their violations. For something FANTASTIC and in a similar vein done by this site some time ago, you should really click here.

UNC Scandal

45 Responses to N & O cramps Butch’s style (Updated 10:35am)

  1. bradleyb123 11/17/2010 at 11:07 AM #

    The thing that gets me about so many Carolinx fans (albeit fewer and fewer as time goes by) is that they think they will get off light. In the beginning they thought a couple of players would miss a couple of games apiece. But as it got worse and worse with each passing day, they just found one new excuse or defense after another (“it’s those evil, dirty agents”, or the always enjoyable “everybody does it” defense…) They have been in complete and utter denial from day one.

    They think not only that their coach WILL, but also that he SHOULD survive this scandal. And they continue to be arrogant, saying Carolinx will survive this and recover quickly, because well, they’re CAROLINX.

    If they were a little more humble, I would maybe feel some empathy for them. But I really just want Thor to drop the hammer on them and destroy as much of their athletic program as possible now. I feel like they brought this upon themselves, and they (and their fans) deserve whatever comes of this. No sanction is too light.

    Let’s hope JUSTICE will prevail in Chapel Hill. And may it be swift and harsh!

  2. backnine 11/17/2010 at 11:15 AM #

    Good to see someone with knowledge of how the NCAA works in these matters state that sanctions are coming and will likely have some weight. I think the Cam Newton situation has taken a lot of attention away from the systemic issues in Chapel Hill – at least from a media perspective. But the NCAA has all the documentation – likely much more than any of us realize.

    The rank and file Heel fan probably thinks the worst has passed due to the perceived lull in media attention (until this week anyway). Have to wonder if this article from the N&O brings them back down to earth on the realities of what’s coming. The same could be said of recruits. Butch and company claiming nothing is going to happen runs counter to what this article makes clear. Sanctions are definitely coming! Let’s hope there are some responsible adults in the lives of many of these recruits who step in and say, “junior, let’s rethink the wisdom of this decision.”

  3. bradleyb123 11/17/2010 at 11:20 AM #

    I want to see a book written about all this, with ALL the gory details. I still feel like the public has only seen the surface. Maybe Peter Golenbock could finally write a book that contains actual FACTS.

  4. packalum44 11/17/2010 at 11:23 AM #

    The strongest recruits will leave for bigger and better things and the weakest will be stripped of their scholarships. These should be our targets. UNC would be wise to self impose a bowl ban this year and hope the NCAA accepts this gesture.

    I would guess 2 to 3 bowl bans and a loss at least equal to USC’s scholarship reduction. No ranking in the polls. Vacated wins from last season and possibly this season (sorry I’m not as naive as a 17 year old Butch). Anything on top of that would be gravy.

  5. Skoll 11/17/2010 at 11:23 AM #

    As it stands today, if all that if these events were standalone then they could explain them away and only expect something along the lines from previous sanctions at other institutions. But this is unheard of imo. 5+ permanently ineligible before the season is out. Asst Head Coach fired for essentially being an agent. Tutor working for the head coach. Etc. Several by themselves are bad enough to warrant heavy sanctions. Put them all together though and you honestly have a case for the death penalty imo.

    LOIC is certain and you can argue that the NCAA will deem this at the AD level if any other sport is brought into the investigation. If that happens, I can see the NCAA giving sanctions across the board to all sports and absolutely hammering football.

  6. Gowolves 11/17/2010 at 11:37 AM #

    They will get severely punished by the NCAA. What I do not know. I do think Butch will keep his job. I want him fired. Some State fans want to keep him because we own him. My feeling is if he stays that just signifies that what happened was ok whether he knew or not. I think the cutlure starts with the head coach.

  7. bradleyb123 11/17/2010 at 11:44 AM #

    You think Butch will keep his job? Carolinx will want to clean up their image. I think we all know that they CAN’T move past this as long as he is their head coach. This is his scandal. And history is not on his side. Normally, coaches do not survive big scandals, and theirs is looking bigger than most scandals.

    I know a lot of people there WANT him to survive. But I don’t think it matters. I can’t imagine that he will.

  8. VaWolf82 11/17/2010 at 11:47 AM #

    Maybe Peter Golenbock could finally write a book that contains actual FACTS.

    Many people don’t like facts because they just get in the way of the story they want to tell. Or as Smokey Glenn told BobLee….details are irrelevant.

  9. choppack1 11/17/2010 at 11:52 AM #

    Skoll – I don’t think anything is certain here.

    A couple of things that could impact the NCAA’s ruling.

    #1 Does UNC bite the bullet and pull themselves from bowl contention this year?

    #2 Does UNC self-impose any other significant self-imposed violations.

    Right now – UNC and their 3 leaders are acting like a rational criminal charged w/ a serious crime. They aren’t admitting anything until it becomes public knowledge – nor are they punishing themselves significantly until they know exactly what the prosecution has and has an idea of what the prosecution will do.

    Potentially in their favor is that they have suspended players who may have done nothing wrong. There are a couple of $1 million dollar questions – that could have a huge impact on the severity of the punishment that awaits the Heels:

    1. Have any recruiting impropieties been uncovered in the NCAA investigation? If so, I don’t see how they get away w/ anything less than a 3 year post-season ban and significant scholarship loss.

    2. Regarding Blake’s contact w/ Suh while he was at Nebraska – Polini asked an athletic department official at Nebraska to contact UNC. Did this person contact UNC?

    3. Were the players who have been suspended but “cleared” involved in any academic infractions?

    4. How does the NCAA really view UNC’s claim of cooperation? Are they taking Butch’s promises to recruits as a lack of cooperation (or at least good faith) – or has Butch really been told by the NCAA – “Look, you guys won’t lose many scholarships or more than one post-season”?

    From what I’ve read – I’ve head the NCAA actually regrets what it did to SMU. They didn’t want to permanently destory football there. I find this odd – since they pretty much set out to destroy it, but that’s another matter.

    Who knows what the NCAA will do.

    If nothing else (than what is already known) comes out – I would set the “line” at a 2 year post-season ban and a modest reduction of scholarships.

    What makes this case unique is that’s essentially nickle and dime stuff. We’re not talking the money that was thrown at Reggie Bush or the money mentioned in the Michigan case. If this had just been 3 players receiving benefits from an agent – I think that the case would be over now. If it was just the academic scandal – this case would be over now. Blake’s influence – and to a lesser extent Hawkins – further complicates matters…The tutor’s relationship to the HC further complicates matters. UNC standing by Butch Davis – probably further complicates matters.

    I think it’s a reasonable position to say that most UNC fans are impacted by their bias. However, to be fair, we’d have to admit – we are probably biased by ours as well. One day – and who knows when that will be – we’ll see.

  10. bradleyb123 11/17/2010 at 12:00 PM #

    Publishing tycoon and media magnet William Randolph Hearst, once famously said “never let the truth get in the way of a good story”.

    Looks like Butch has been telling some pretty good stories to recruits. I so hope he pays for all this with his job.

    Some State fans say (maybe jokingly) that they hope Carolina keeps Butch because he’s not a very good coach. I say hogwash. Look at the recruits he has brought into that program. Despite losing so many players, they’re STILL pretty solid. If he continues at the pace he is on, they WILL get good, and he will suddenly become a “good coach”. So I’m not afraid to admit it. I want them to get hit hard, and I want Butch gone. I want them to replace him with the Les Robinson of college football coaches so they can toil for a number of years. Hopefully over that time, we can finally put a fair amount of distance between us and them, and become known as the premier football program in this state. Butch may be the last thing standing in the way of that. So yes, I want him gone. Just thinking about the big picture here.

  11. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 11/17/2010 at 12:20 PM #

    Did anyone else catch this?:

    “The chairman of that committee is Paul Dee, the former athletic director at Miami. Dee was the AD when head football coach Butch Davis left Miami in 2001 for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.”

    Does anyone think that Dee may be harboring some negative feelings towards Davis since he screwed him when he left Miami? I would imagine so….

  12. bradleyb123 11/17/2010 at 12:24 PM #

    cWOhLFrPAiCKs, I heard that a while back.

    It’s not like facts are being manufactured, though. They did the things that are being investigated. So Paul Dee possibly wanting some kind of payback really doesn’t matter. UNX and their players still brought all this on themselves. Just because Paul Dee may be getting some personal satisfaction doesn’t really change anything. Maybe he was just a little more aggressive due to the Butch/Miami/Cleveland situation. Maybe not.

    But if this was happening at State, I’m sure we’d all be crying foul over it.

  13. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 11/17/2010 at 12:24 PM #

    I don’t understand how UNC will not be penalized for having played Ramsey at the beginning of this season. The NCAA told them it was their responsibility to decide which players would play and which would not, and now that they went ahead and played a kid that is now deemed ineligible, shouldn’t they be punished for that?

    Of course, this could just be more UNC smoke being blown up everyone’s…you know…As much as I love watching UNC squirm under pressure, I can’t wait for sanctions to come down!

  14. choppack1 11/17/2010 at 12:34 PM #

    “I want them to replace him with the Les Robinson of college football coaches so they can toil for a number of years.”

    Amen.

  15. bradleyb123 11/17/2010 at 12:44 PM #

    I don’t understand how UNC will not be penalized for having played Ramsey at the beginning of this season.

    I heard that Ramsey’s situation was unclear, and that Carolina had some kind of “gentleman’s agreement” with the NCAA that the instant he was deemed ineligible, he would be benched. Makes sense. If they thought they wouldn’t have any evidence against him, why penalize him? I guess Carolina was prepared to keep him out and the NCAA allowed him to play. If that’s the case, it would be dirty of the NCAA to then vacate the wins in which he participated.

  16. JeremyH 11/17/2010 at 12:46 PM #

    If in the end the NCAA does not impose heavy sanctions, this will become a much bigger story. It’s not like the NCAA needs to take the “make an example of them” position, simply apply the appropriate punishment.

    I mean, come on, they have made a complete mockery of the whole system, and the manner in which they have done it reeks of a rogue, elitist, above-the-law sort of attitude, now shown clearly for all to see.

    “The Carolina Way”
    …..seriously?…….Wow…..just “Wow”

    you’ve cheated in about every way possible in recruiting and academics. game over.

  17. Homeboy 11/17/2010 at 12:50 PM #

    The word is that Carolina is waiting to fire Butch until after the NCAA gets as much dirt as possible on him so the athletic department can avoid paying him any sort of severance/contract $.

    Sounds Baddour-like.

    If they’re smart, they’ll forego the bowl season this year as an act of pre-emptive contrition.

    Sucks for the non-cheating seniors over there, but it be what it be.

  18. choppack1 11/17/2010 at 1:14 PM #

    Did I notice in the link that UNC was the only coach who hasn’t fired their coach fairly early in this process? I guess UT is taking a queue from them…Is it coincidence that UT is a football school trying to have their “best-ever” basketball program?

  19. VaWolf82 11/17/2010 at 1:20 PM #

    Sucks for the non-cheating seniors over there, but it be what it be.

    Would this be the same group that knew what was going on and didn’t say anything to anyone? Better to punish the players that are currently on the team, than kids still in high school.

  20. Gowolves 11/17/2010 at 1:26 PM #

    Choppack1

    There is not a million dollar questions. There is only one 70 million dollar question. That is the expansion they are starting. To pay for part of it is the revenue generated by the suites. If they fire BD can they replace him with a winning coach. One that will but butts in the seats and suites being sold. This is all about money. The longer this drags out and the outrage dies down Butch will quitly keep his job. Then again if the sactions(limited scholarships) are harsh enough DB will figure it will not matter who the coach is. They will suck no matter who they hire or keep as head coach. That is why I beleive if he is fired it will not happen until the investigation report is finished. I also beleive they will not volunteerly deny a bowl invite. They need the momentum to be high as possible when the report is released next year.

  21. Gowolves 11/17/2010 at 1:27 PM #

    Sorry for the typos

  22. Homeboy 11/17/2010 at 1:35 PM #

    ^^ Right VA.

    My best buddy’s son plays football in the Big East (at Pitt)…he’s got enough to do without chaperoning 85 of his teammates 24/7.

    If it were your son, and he didn’t cheat and handled his business, you’d likely feel the same way.

    Condemning the innocent by association with the guilty dilutes the severity of what the guilty cheaters actually did.

  23. Pack Mentality 11/17/2010 at 1:50 PM #

    VAWolf,
    One thing to consider is that a player has no incentive to rat out other players if the coaches are orchestrating all the illegal activity. That would only hurt the players who snitch.

  24. wufpup76 11/17/2010 at 2:07 PM #

    “Or as Smokey Glenn told BobLee….details are irrelevant.

    ^I must have missed this, though it sounds very much like something Smokey would say when an argument isn’t going his way. Shocker.

  25. Oldwolf 11/17/2010 at 2:12 PM #

    I wonder if these senior players from one of the listed links will be “honored” for their time at unc-ch(eat)?

    Marvin Austin DT, 6-3, 310, sr.
    Kendric Burney CB, 5-9, 190, sr.
    Shaun Draughn RB, 6-0, 205, sr,
    Greg Little WR, 6-3, 220, sr.
    Da’Norris Searcy S, 6-0, 200, sr
    Jonathan SmithS , 6-2, 200, sr.
    Deunta Williams S, 6-2, 215, sr.

    I am sure that some of them will.

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