Sordid history of ACC letting UNC off the hook on unsportsmanlike behavior — UPDATED with news of suspension

So, the ACC is reviewing the controversial play discussed here and embedded below?

Where have we heard that before?

I hope you will forgive us at SFN if our experiences on this topic leaves us more than just a little cynical. Please wake us if the real story here ever develops by conference brass in Greensboro that ultimately takes ANY action against John Swofford’s precious boys in baby blue.

In a game full of twists and turns, a pre-snap collision in the first quarter may have been the most eyebrow-raising of all. At the very least, it has caught the attention of the ACC league office.

Take a look at the above video, which, for the record, was titled by the individual that posted it, not me. What it shows is UNC LB Shakeel Rashad, a true freshman, running into Duke WR Conner Vernon from behind. Vernon went down to the ground, rolled around and the trainers came out. He went off the field and was back on the next snap.

Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said he was told by an official that Rashad had been running backwards and bumped into Vernon. Now, that’s clearly not true, and Cutcliffe saw as much when he reviewed the game tape Sunday morning.

“It’s different than what was described to me during the game,” Cutcliffe said of the run-in. “It was full speed, and there was no intent to avoid. We were going to turn it in but we understand now that the conference office is looking at it, and I’ll be interested to see what they say.

“People have seen it, you’ve seen it on television, I’ve just never seen anything quite like it. I was amazed when I saw that this morning. I don’t know, I’m kind of speechless about it. I’ve never had that happen in my entire career. Very unusual.”

For what it’s worth, the TV announcers were pretty emphatic that it was intentional.

“It’s clearly intentional,” the commentator said. “There’s no chance that he doesn’t see Conner Vernon. I’m surprised that wasn’t flagged. Look, if Shakeel Rashad can’t see, we’ve got to get his peripheral vision checked. There’s no chance that you can play linebacker in the ACC if you can’t see a guy just standing there.”

The ACC could potentially fine or suspend Rashad after viewing the film.

Am I supposed to be surprised that the ACC’s on-field officials not only ‘missed’ what happened on Saturday night, but missed it so badly that they literally FABRICATED a version of the story that had absolutely zero basis in reality to explain it? What a SHOCKER! — the version of the story the officials concocted out of thin air just happened to fall in the favor of UNC-Chapel Hill!?

I wonder if the ACC officials in the game told Coach Cutcliffe to ‘shut his f***ing a** up’ like ACC Basketball official Brian Dorsey reportedly yelled at NC State Coach Mark Gottfried the last time Gottfried dared battle UNC? Maybe we’ll leave that one for another day?

It isn’t like you haven’t seen the same style of unsportsmanlike behavior in the past as you saw from Shakeel Rashad on Saturday night, so don’t be too surprised if you see the same type of non-response from the ACC Office as we’ve seen at every stop along the way. And, don’t be surprised when you see this behavior again in the future as there is NO REASON to expect changes while the ACC continues its long standing practice of turning a blind eye — particularly when it involves the boys in baby blue.

But, please don’t hold poor Shakeel Rashad responsible. Rashad is nothing more than a kid who was attracted to a program that has given us such a long string of poor UN-PUNISHIED behavior on the the field that one could make the case that he was only emulating what UNC-CHeats and the ACC has implicitly endorsed through the years. (Of course, the other reason why you don’t want to call out Shakeel Rashad is because David Glenn or Butch Davis’ lawyer may call you racist.)

Rashad was attracted to a renegade culture at a football factory that has found a way to create dozens of physical altercations in recent years without ever receiving any notable punishment from the Atlantic Coast Conference. For example, while being recruited by UNC-CH Rashad got to watch Quinton Coples intentionally tackle a defenseless Russell Wilson some 5 to 10 yards out of bounds only four plays before UNC linebacker, Kevin Reddick, punched NC State’s Jarvis Williams in the head. He also got to hear UNC players admit the unsportsmanlike conduct was pre-mediated as retaliation for unconfirmed reports of ‘spitting’. The punishment for these crimes? You guessed it. Nothing. Please click here for a memory refresher.

While on that previously linked entry you will also see reference to everyone’s favorite, Dontae Paige-Moss. Paige-Moss was able to best Reddick by actually throwing TWO punches in college football games without ever missing a game. Thanks, ACC! You can see a couple of DPM’s all-time best below – first vs Miami and second vs NC State.

Lastly, please click here and scroll down into the post-script for another classic display of Carolina Class that served to help recruit Rashad. In this video, UNC’s Charles Brown has to try really hard to look stupid and almost start another huge incident in a State-Carolina football game. I’m just tired of including them all in this entry. One would thing the ACC would be tired of it as well.

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6:00 Update

 

The UNC-CH linebacker has been suspended for one game.