North Carolina
UNC, media outlets settle case; Student-athlete interviews to be made public
Published: 2012-10-25 21:12:00
Updated: 2012-10-25 21:13:34
Oct 25, 2012
Chapel Hill, N.C. — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill agreed Thursday to a settlement ending more than two years of lawsuits filed by a coalition of media outlets, including WRAL News.
As a result, UNC-CH must release additional documents tied to the university investigation of alleged improper behavior – both athletic and academic – by members of the Tar Heel football team.
On Sept. 26, Superior Court Judge Howard E. Manning said that UNC must release information the university gathered for the NCAA about football players who got money, jewelry and other benefits, including transcripts of interviews with those student-athletes. The media coalition agreed not to publish those interviews verbatim online.
Manning ruled that, while information about a player's academic performance would remain sealed, facts about impermissible benefits that led to a player's being ruled ineligible should be released.
Archive: UNC football investigation
The university must also release records of university investigations into misconduct by any UNC coach, acting agent or booster.
WRAL and its partners also asked for unredacted copies of UNC's entire response to the NCAA Notice of Allegations, which the university prepared in September 2011. It was this response that UNC used to propose the Tar Heels vacate all wins in 2008 and 2009, pay a $50,000 fine, lose nine scholarships over three years and serve a two-year probation period. In March, the NCAA responded with a punishment that included the loss of 15 scholarships over three years, a one-year postseason ban and three years on probation.
UNC will be allowed to redact information related to academic or personnel issues, but must release anything related to "student-athlete impermissible benefits violations resulting in sanctions and ineligibility."
Both the university and the coalition are seeking further guidance on the release of records related to NCAA violations due to impermissible academic benefits as well as information related to student tutors including names, salaries and employment dates.
Should there be no objections to the production of documents by UNC to the requesting media outlets, the university will also pay the coalition’s legal fees in the amount of $45,000.
Over the course of the two and a half year legal proceeding, the court has repeatedly ruled against UNC, forcing the release of parking ticket records, phone records and emails of key figures in the investigation such as former head coach Butch Davis, former assistant coach John Blake, former Director of Athletics Dick Baddour and out-going Chancellor Holden Thorp.
The settlement ends the legal back-and-forth between UNC-CH and the media coalition.
Copyright 2013 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Most Recent Comments
RE: UNC, media outlets settle case; Student-athlete interviews to be made public
Since the NCAA has reviewed all of this, what's the point of releasing it? Just to give the ABCers something to kick around in the court of public opinion? Just askin'.
- Posted by mxteam44
The law requires it. Isn't that enough?
"The public records and public information compiled by agencies of North Carolina government or its subdivisions are the property of the people. Therefore, it is the policy of this State that the people may obtain copies of their public records free or at a minimal cost..." Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes.
Gee, then why is NCSU using the same law to prevent records the N&O has requested of them. The "law requires it" at UNC, wouldn't that apply also to NCSU?
Or is that "different", Counselor?
The same law applies. If NCSU is withholding public records, it should release them.
Can't believe you posted this. Do you realize that the win by the media pretty much exposes ANYTHING to do with individual athletes now. Check the US Constitution, above all, individual rights are supposed to take precedent over the rights of a group. Obama has made everyone think though that people are not important, just big brother, or big media. The media is starting to wag the tail of the common man collective and in this case, you Red Ragers got wagged like a dog's getting ready to get a Bojangles biscuit. I think an independent review would have been fine, but the release of the information for public fodder did two things...give you Red Ragers a hatedrug you are addicted to, and made the media a more powerful bully than they already are.
RE: UNC, media outlets settle case; Student-athlete interviews to be made public
The sanctions have been handed down, Carolina has pretty much cleaned house from Thorp on down. Other than being entertaining, I don't care what Marvin Austin and others said during their interviews.
- Posted by jgunn
You have always been a fair poster, but I don't think "cleaning house" means the same thing in Chapel Hill as it does out here in the hinterlands. I haven't seen any firings, and all those resigning have major golden parachutes.
So sez Vikram Pandit. You gotta catch up Scooberdude, all big time positions get those parachutes. Keep in mind this is the academics setting up the rules for academics to be let go. It's a problem everywhere.
RE: UNC, media outlets settle case; Student-athlete interviews to be made public
Since the NCAA has reviewed all of this, what's the point of releasing it? Just to give the ABCers something to kick around in the court of public opinion? Just askin'.
- Posted by mxteam44
The law requires it. Isn't that enough?
"The public records and public information compiled by agencies of North Carolina government or its subdivisions are the property of the people. Therefore, it is the policy of this State that the people may obtain copies of their public records free or at a minimal cost..." Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes.
So it would be okay to request all records if your kids went to a public high school or college, or emergency room, or didn't pay enough taxes?
RE: UNC, media outlets settle case; Student-athlete interviews to be made public
Dang that Daily Tarheel for suing their own school!!! IT has the schools own fans on here saying it is pro-state. Some of the worse posts I have ever seen. And UNC has cleaned house??? Look up that great receiver UNC has, High-as-kites or whatever, he's still playing and unc has documented that he cheats more than once and got caught at least twice. If these reports don't mean anything to unc fans, PLEASE QUIT POSTING on these stories. Only a delusional fan-base would keep arguing about something they care nothing about. ABC fans are just arguing with you, not the scandals. UNC is still cheating and even their own school admits it.
RE: UNC, media outlets settle case; Student-athlete interviews to be made public
Chris Washburn (big DEAN SMITH recruit) never plagiarized an 11 year old's work.
- Posted by TruthBKnown Returned
You are right, because he could barely read. He had a 6th grader IQ. Trust me there is no way that the State athletic program is pristine either. This is all about trolling and nothing more. State fans never cared about public information before this, it is all about sticking it to a school that has eaten State's lunch in every sport in ACC history. 5 straight wins in football doesn't come close to making it even competitive.
When you have no success of your own, you focus on bringing down the successful. That said, our program deserved what it got and was not on the up and up, and should be ashamed of what was going on. However, at this point the media is going after individual students and their individual assignments WHILE THEY ARE STILL IN SCHOOL. If NCSU got that same treatment, there would be much more to talk about.
The difference is that UNC has done a terrible job managing the fiasco, allowing records to be hacked into by State fans and such, putting Peppers' grades out there "by accident" and all that stuff. Any of you that think your players don't cheat at all or plagiarize, you are very naive. It happened at State in the 80's and 90's and it still happens. That can of worms remains closed because nobody has opened it.
Your day will come, and we will be there. Hopefully we'll be off probation by then lol
I have never seen such an immature and nanny-nanny-boo-boo fan base as I have seen at NCSU. For a school that has accomplished next to nothing athletically, they sure do seem to think they are an SEC-calibre program. Or is that only when the referees' calls don't go their way?
So why did Dean want him so badly?
To educate and save him so that he might have a prosperous and meaningful life. Dean was a known philanthropist and human rights advocate.
LOL
You can take your tongue out of your cheek now. :)
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