A school once known for its prestigious athletic program, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) found itself in the middle of a scandal on Oct. 22. The advisors at UNC have been admitting student athletes into fake classes, also known as “paper classes,” to raise their GPA so they are eligible to play. After 18 years of faking classes, they were finally caught.
According to CNN, during an eight-month investigation by former U.S. Justice Department official, Kenneth Wainstein, a reported 3,100 student athletes were involved in the scandal so far.
“The scandal started out actually as an agent scandal,” CNN correspondent Sara Ganim said. “Some players who had improper contact with agents that was revealed in late 2010.”
President Gerald Gurney of the Drake Group, an incorporation dedicated to academic integrity in collegiate sports, said to CNN reporters, “I can safely say that the scope of the 20-year UNC fraud scandal easily takes the prize for the largest and most nefarious scandal in the history of NCAA enforcement. The depth and breadth of the scheme — involving counselors, coaches, academic administrators, faculty, athletic administrators, etc. — eclipses any previous case.”
Finding the faculty who are guilty of cheating athletes out of their education has become a school-wide witch hunt.
“One former head football coach, John Bunting, admitted to knowing of the paper classes, and his successor, Butch Davis, also admitted some knowledge,” Wainstein said. “Current men’s basketball coach Roy Williams is steadfast that he did not know.”
Mary Willingham, a former academic advisor at UNC, spoke out about the fraudulent grade boosting five years ago. When the university failed to listen, she spoke to various media sources to get the word out.
According to the Huffington Post, in July Willingham retaliated against UNC for demoting her.
“Willingham’s civil suit claims the university spent $500,000 over 24 months to wage a public relations campaign against her, changed her job assignment and responsibilities and condoned a hostile work environment.”
Although Willingham was publicly denounced by the university, individuals at UNC think otherwise. “UNC should formally apologize to Mary Willingham, the researcher, who told the university for free, what the Wainstein report documents in excruciating detail,” UNC history professor, Harry Watson, said.
Are these people student athletes or athletic students? When will we stop giving so much power to athletic officials?