Chancellor Holden Thorp’s firing of Butch Davis “without cause” has left many asking questions.
Chancellor Holden Thorp said Butch Davis was being dismissed “without cause,” acknowledged that the timing — eight days before players were to report — was “terrible,” and said the coach would be given a $2.7 million good-bye gift. He cited ongoing damage to UNC’s “academic reputation” as the deal-breaker.
The announcement represented an about-face for Thorp, who had said repeatedly during the past year that he had confidence that Davis could fix the program, which stands accused of nine major violations in a report by the NCAA that mentions Davis just once, but not in connection with alleged violations.
Thorp lied to — or misled — not only Davis, fellow coaches, UNC football fans, the school’s board of trustees and current players, but high school football players considering playing for Davis, many of whom are now on campus with limited options — either staying, or transferring and sitting out a year. He also resuscitated a story that was gasping for air.
Does Thorp believe that UNC’s academic foundation is so wobbly that a half-dozen football players who cheat, get caught, get punished with F’s and expulsions, can bring it crashing down?
Want a truer measure? UNC’s football program was among the leaders in the country in graduating players when Davis arrived, and he has grown the percentage, which averages in the mid-70s.
What isn’t being reported is that Thorp was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, which oversees the tutorial program, where the academic issues were conceived. UNC has constructed a wall that keeps the football coach out of the academic arena, so Davis is being punished for issues that occurred beyond his reach.
There are those convinced that Thorp and others in South Building don’t believe that a big-time college football program can exist on a campus that is serious about its academic mission, and that football will now be de-emphasized. What happens in the months and years following will testify for or against that assertion.
What is clear is that Thorp withered under the heat of the academics on campus and media, which were relentless in their charge, and that Thorp took advantage of turnover on the board of trustees, timing the announcement when the former chairman of the board, a Davis supporter, was out of the country.
This is not to say that Davis should not have been fired. He hired an assistant coach who, although cleared by the NCAA, brought with him a spotty reputation, and Davis could have been more diligent in making sure that a handful of players who said no to the NFL to return to play for the 2010 season better understood that parasitic sports agents were in the bushes.
That makes long ago, not now, the time for any dismissal.
Complicating it all is that UNC just completed construction of the Blue Zone to Kenan Stadium, a $70 million addition that is built but not paid for. Fannies in the seats were the payment plan, and a mediocre or losing football program will mean depressed revenues that imperil not only football, but Olympic sports — and even academics.
That is the new threat to what Thorp would call the “Carolina Way,” not a few football players who did what is done on campuses in this country every day, got caught, and paid a heavy price.
"That is the new threat to what Thorp would call the “Carolina Way,” not a few football players who did what is done on campuses in this country every day, got caught, and paid a heavy price."
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If that is not trotting out the "everybody does it" defense, I don't know what is.
Just like UNC said they had reviewed the footballs player's plagiarized paper when in fact it was proven they had never looked at it.
Years ago when Clemson was placed on probation by the NCAA Friday said the penalty was not sever enough, so he pushed and got more time added to Clemson. Let's see if he feels the same way about his dear tar heels.
1) If you did not read my post earlier, you cannot criticize Thorp's handling of this matter. New revelations in Davis' phone records made it imperative to get rid of him.
2) There are issues of academic impropriety AND inappropriate agent contact in this investigation - that have been hushed and stonewalled for 13 months;
3) Don't comment on NC State - or Auburn - or anybody. Particularly NC State Football! Tom O'Brien has implemented a solid program - at the cost of a season or two....
You would do well to follow O'Brien's lead.
And nowhere is UNC using an "everybody does it defense." UNC is simply acknowledging that it did punish the actual "wrong-doers" and in many cases more severely than NCAA precedent suggests. It even sat out kids who were later found to not guilty of offenses to be safe and to not push them up in the honor court process. If folks actually cared about facts instead of myths they would know that. They would also realize that the 216 phone had already been evaluated and UNC did the OPPOSITE of stonewalling throughout this investigation. UNC was more cooperative than 90 % of schools in the same situation typically are. Don't confuse what the blood thirsty media knew and what the NCAA knew. UNC went open book with the NCAA throughout this and if most schools went as far openbook as UNC did (giving entire email records of student athletes, not preparing any athletes for interviews), they would all be guilty of some sort of NCAA violations.
In the end, this article is dead on. A man who was in charge of the dept under which the violations that challenged "academic integrity" occured holding another man--whose position is INTENTIONALLY removed from this area outside of making sure kids go to class and study hall--accountable for these violations, is ridiculous. Furthermore, to act as if football players are immune from things that no study body in the country is immune from is also ridiculous. It's minimizing those occurrences and how one handles those situations if/when they should occur that determines integrity.
When are people going to understand that the only innocent people involved in tutorgate are the students and football players with less than NFL talent who were being taken advantage of at the daily practices
Firing Coach Davis was clearly the wrong action by Chancellor Thorp. There is no evidence whatsoever that Davis had knowledge of or involvement in any of the infractions being investigated by the NCAA.
Davis' only sin seems to be in giving a second chance to a coach who claimed he had been rehabilitated, only to find out he was still a wolf in sheep's clothing. In our society we try hard to find good in people. Even hardened criminals and murderers are offered forgiveness when they admit the error of their ways. We need to believe that people are basically good. Sometimes we're wrong. Clearly John Blake had convinced the powers that he had found religion. Sucker!
As long as Coach Davis was never implicated in any of the findings, this whole mess would have eventually disappeared. Hand down the the NCAA sanctions, play a season of football, and it's soon forgotten. Once the media finds their next victim, Carolina's problems would be a distant memory.
To punish Coach Davis for the sins of one man is akin to you losing your rights to being a parent because one of your kids committed a crime. As a parent you should constantly monitor your children and always be aware of everything they are planning to do, say or write. As a good parent you are reading their e-mails, tweets and monitoring their Facebook posts. Your failure to properly raise and control your children makes you culpable and an accomplice to any crime they might commit.
You displayed not only incompetence as a parent, but you failed your obligations to society. You are clearly unfit as a lawyer and should be disbarred. As an embarrassment to your law firm they should distance themselves as far as possible. Innocent as you might be, any support shown for you would only display their own bad judgment. They don't need the attention or distractions as you deal with your personal problems. Your firm will give you a severance package, but then what? Where are you going to work? Who would ever give you a second chance? Why take the risk? If your child commits a crime, clearly the apple does not fall far from the tree. Bad parent you are!
As a Boy Scout leader I have had about 500 boys go through my program over the last 20 years. My goal is to mold these youth into good citizens and persons of high moral character. I teach them duty to God, country and self. I help them become mentally, emotionally and physically strong. And I do this not just at weekly meetings, but by being involved with them as individuals in school, church, community and in the outdoors. I try to be involved with their families also. And yet, despite my best efforts, I still lose a few to the dark side. Could I have done a better job? In hindsight, maybe, but it's hard to always know what 60-70 boys are doing. I can't follow them 24/7. Young kids, when exposed to bad influences, sometimes make bad choices.
Often there is simply nothing a Scout leader or a football coach can do. I am so thankful that when any of my Scouts got involved with the wrong side of the legal system, no one came calling for my head. As their Scout leader I should have accepted responsibility for their actions, and, so as not to sully the image of the Boy Scouts of America, immediately stepped down. Had I not resigned and kept trying to reach out to my Scouts, I suppose it would have only been right for the sponsoring church and their organizational representative to fire me. And don't forget about those boys' parents. How did they not know their sons were involved in an illegal activity? We need to punish them also.
Marvin Austin posting a photo of a $143 receipt for a Cheesecake Factory meal on his Twitter account, and then bragging about his exploits, was just plain dumb. What bothers me most is not the bragging, but the fact that he knew he was doing something wrong, and then dared make it public. No matter how hard a coaching staff works to teach their players right from wrong, there is no cure for stupid!
Chancellor Thorp said, "I could no longer overlook the fact that what started as a purely athletic issue has begun to chip away at this university’s integrity. I cannot stand for that." How has any of this affected the university's integrity? One bad coach and a dozen players showing poor judgment do not reflect on the school's integrity. There was no conspiracy between the coaching staff and athletic department. There was no cover-up. What
happened was isolated to a few individuals.
If Chancellor Thorp wants to cast aspersions, he should look no farther than his own mirror. The academic issues affecting football players in the tutorial program started on Thorp's watch as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The university has constructed a wall keeping the football coach out of the academic arena, so Davis is being punished for issues which were beyond his reach. Own up Chancellor Thorp. It happened on your watch!
If we are ever to clear the air, as the ultimate authority figure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chancellor Thorp needs to accept responsibility and resign. It does not end with the head coach and athletic director.
Chancellor Thorp, we are awaiting your decision!
Does nobody care about accountability anymore? Next time try placing the blame where it's due. On the wrong-doers. Not the guy who's trying to clean up the mess. Pathetic 'blame the messenger' nonsense here.
This thing has been mishandled - for sure. But the hushing and stonewalling of the past 13 months did not make this any easier. ANOTHER season with a cloud over their heads, interim coaching woes - and, of course, lamenting over paying for the stadium improvements (the important stuff).
Recent reports - call them rumors, if you must - seem to suggest that NEW information has come out that made the move unavoidable. Some of Davis' own records have prompted the immediate exit. Not Thorp's handling of this matter.
Baddour should have already been fired. I was amused by his statements last fall. One of which was "We don't know what the facts are yet. The facts keep changing".
Facts don't change. Nor does what happened under Davis at UNC. Keep wishing it will go away - or blame someone - or some other program....
As for the stadium improvements, oh well! Just like that JumboTron that sat for a year at the Dean Dome - before it could be installed. All that stuff was going to be paid for - by concert revenues, etc. A little thing called Walnut Creek Amphitheater popped up and but a wrench in the works. Just can't see that stuff coming, can you?
Mark Harrill
I read Matt's article this afternoon. He did a heck of a job.
Donnie Douglas
Editor
The Robesonian