Lessons from UNC's infamous fake classes scandal
Lessons from UNC's infamous fake classes scandal
Plus: Colonial Pipeline closed as hurricane precaution; Panthers add male cheerleaders; City details finances of crown apparel deal; BofA temporarily shuts branches; Best marquee of all time
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Author Q&A: UNC scandal was an ‘inevitable clash’ that led to changes on money in college sports; ‘a ton of Schadenfreude’ from Wolfpack fans
(Photo by Jon Gardiner/UNC Chapel Hill)
It was the university scandal that UNC alums loathed and that UNC rivals couldn’t get enough of — the series of revelations over seven years starting in 2010 that some of the college’s student-athletes took easy classes, or classes that never met at all.
It cost several UNC leaders their jobs, sullied the reputation of the school and made the NCAA look powerless.
Now, there’s a book about all of it.
Charlotte native Andy Thomason, an editor with The Chronicle of Higher Education in Washington, D.C., wrote “Discredited: The UNC Scandal and College Athletics' Amateur Ideal,” published this month by the University of Michigan Press. Thomason, who attended Myers Park High School, graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2013.
He spoke with The Ledger’s Tony Mecia last week about lessons from the scandal, the pressures at big-time sports schools and the reaction from Carolina alumni. Remarks were edited for brevity and clarity.
Q. For people who have some passing familiarity with what happened at Chapel Hill, what's the big idea? What's the main theme of the book?
The main theme of the book is that when this scandal hit — and it started in 2010 — the conversation about it was very much who did wrong? Who acted inappropriately? Who caused these fake classes to happen?
I’ll lay it out briefly: Over a period of a couple of decades, more than 3,000 students enrolled in these classes that were advertised as lectures but never met. They were easy and they were arranged by a departmental secretary and the department of African and Afro-American Studies. And the department chair was also involved.
The public conversation was very much, “Who’s responsible?” “What went wrong here?” A handful of people got fired. Tons of ink was spilled. UNC spent tons of money handling this scandal.
But what got left out was what were the broader forces that made this happen, that made this inevitable? Basically, this was an inevitable clash. It was an inevitable conflict.
When college campuses that play big time college sports signed off on the notion of the student-athlete, they were essentially signing their names to a myth, and that myth has consequences when it is put in practice on a college campus.
Q. The question I remember thinking from that time was, “Is this something that is particular to Carolina? Or were they just the ones that happened to get caught?” How widespread was this was this kind of cheating.?
Well, easy classes are happening everywhere. We all know that, and when we all went to college, we knew where the easy classes were. There are classes that cater to athletes. Those happen everywhere.
What was unique to Carolina was the severity of the scandal. This is a campus that had for decades done a lot of myth-making around itself as the practitioner of the “Carolina Way” — this concept that we can be excellent in athletics, and we can be excellent in academics.
And not only can we do both well, but these things mutually reinforce themselves. Because you had Dean Smith, because you had the reputation of Bill Friday, these things sort of built Carolina up in the public imagination, especially in the state of North Carolina. And so when that gets undermined through these revelations, the consequences are catastrophic.
Part of the reason the scandal lasted seven years is that it’s a lot of Schadenfreude for people who are not associated with Carolina. We’re talking N.C. State fans …
Q. Yeah, I remember those N.C. State bulletin boards. Those things were lit up.
Basically, they played a huge role in the scandal. In fact, in July of 2011, it was a poster on Pack Pride who caught one of the very first whiffs of impropriety in the department of African and Afro-American Studies. One of the players had sued to get back on the football team and put one of his papers into his lawsuit, which was online. So the Pack Pride poster got it and Googled some of the phrases and found out it had been plagiarized.
Q. As I recall, it wasn’t just plagiarized — wasn’t it plagiarized from some book that was 80 years old?
Oh yeah. If you read it, you’d be like, “Oh, this is not contemporary.”
One of the interesting dynamics here is that there was a ton of Schadenfreude from people who had reason to want to undermine UNC. That was one of the factors that fueled all the public interest in it.
Q. There’s been a lot of discussion lately about whether college athletes should be compensated. How does this UNC scandal fit into that discussion?
It’s all related.
The latest laws that we read about — name/image/likeness laws that are taking effect across the country, which allow college athletes for the first time ever to make money off of their names with autographs, social media endorsements, that type of thing — that’s a direct outgrowth of the waning reputation of the NCAA.
And one of the key factors that contributed to that was the very end of this scandal. And what happened then was in 2017, after the NCAA brought charges against Carolina, they eventually came down with the decision that there were going to be no penalties.
There was tons of outrage that policing this kind of impropriety is one of the things that we can all agree the NCAA is supposed to do. This further hastened their declining image.
Q. How do you evaluate how the UNC administration responded to this? Did they drag their feet? Were they crafty in the way they came up with a response?
That’s a big part of my book.
There was a lot of reluctance to deal with it. There was a lot of reluctance to fill records requests from media outlets.
One of my main sources for the book was Holden Thorp, who was the chancellor of UNC from 2008 to 2012. And what I found out is that the UNC chancellor is really hamstrung in the way that they can deal with crises, and it’s only gotten worse since Thorp was chancellor.
The real factor here has been that hyperpolarization. It’s made the job harder. In the athletic scandal days, Thorp felt that he had to cater to the whims of donors, board members, professors, students, politicians, members of the media.
Q. Was there anything in particular that surprised you when you were working on this book?
We’re dealing with a very problematic system, and you have these characters and these actors trying to maneuver their way, and they can’t find a true north. And so, they end up doing things that maybe later they would regret or that maybe look extremely hypocritical.
But we have to center our attention on is what is the system that dictates these kind of actions? I’m not saying that personal responsibility doesn’t play a role. But I did find that systemic forces dictated a lot of what happened.
Author Andy Thomason is a graduate of Myers Park High and UNC Chapel Hill. He’s an assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Q. Has there been any reaction to the book yet, or is it still kind of early?
Not yet. It’s still early. I’m keen to hear what people think. Passions run high on this subject.
Q. Will it break down on the traditional lines where the Carolina people will say, “There's nothing new here” and the N.C. State people are going to be buying it as Christmas gifts for everyone?
I don’t know, but I have gotten Tar Heel fans already in my mentions on Twitter — without having read the book — saying “This is just more of the same, more of the same.” I’m like, guys, just read it first. C’mon.
Today’s supporting sponsors are Payzer …
… and T.R. Lawing Realty:
Colonial Pipeline shut down as precaution as massive Hurricane Ida hits the Gulf
A monster of a hurricane hit Louisiana on Sunday, and officials with the Colonial Pipeline — which pumps gas to Charlotte and much of the Southeast — said the company is shutting off the lines between Houston and Greensboro.
“Fuel supply continues to be available throughout the Southeast from the numerous terminals located along the supply route,” the company said in a statement.
As we learned in May, when a cyberattack closed the pipeline for five days, there is usually enough gas at terminals including Charlotte’s to continue to meet normal demand for several days. The problem is that if people think there might be shortages and price increases, they top off their tanks and hoard gas, which increases demand and in turn strains the supply.
As of Sunday night, that did not appear to be happening in Charlotte, based on our driving past a few gas stations with no customers after 10 p.m. But this is Charlotte, so don’t discount the possibility that stepped-up gas purchases could materialize.
Analysts said gas prices could rise because of refinery power outages.
What’s next: The big question will be how quickly the pipeline can come back online, and whether refineries still have power. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the power was out at several of the pipeline’s pumping stations, and it was out of commission for about three days. Gas supplies in Charlotte were spotty and prices stayed high for a couple weeks.—TM
New on the Panthers’ sidelines this season: male TopCats cheerleaders
Fans at Friday night’s Panthers preseason win against the Steelers spotted something new on the sidelines — two men on the TopCats cheerleading team.
The male additions (do we call them Tom Cats?) to what has been an all-female dance team were the talk of the stadium, cheering alongside their female counterparts in all-white uniforms with the team’s classic teal pompoms.
The TopCats are more of a dance team than a stunt team; the male cheerleaders don’t toss the female cheerleaders, like you see in college and competitive cheer. (So don’t expect the kind of stuff you saw on the Netflix docuseries “Cheer.”)
Other NFL teams have debuted male cheerleaders in recent years, including the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints.
Fans applauded the new additions on the TopCats’ Instagram page over the weekend:
“Male cheerleaders add a lil spice and I’m loving this combo!!”
“Honestly I was 🤔 about having male cheerleaders….. but I get it now! You guys ROCK! 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟. 👏👏👏👏👏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸”
Here’s a video a football-loving Ledger fan sent us:
—CB
The financial details behind the mayor’s hoodie modeling gig
One thing that caught people’s eye last week was the modeling shoot by Mayor Vi Lyles — in which she sported a hoodie made by local apparel marketer 704 Shop.
As you might imagine, it was a hit on social media. The Observer wrote about the witty Twitter responses. Axios Charlotte interviewed Lyles about the photo shoot, in which she confided: “Sometimes I really find that I’m more fun than I think I am.”
But we wondered: What exactly are the financial arrangements between the city and 704 Shop? Mayors traditionally promote local business generally, but how much should they promote a particular business individually — especially when 704 Shop has local competitors who would probably love for the mayor to highlight their sweatshirts, caps and other drip.
On Friday, in response to our request, the city provided its two-page contract with 704 Shop. It says:
the city will receive 10% of sales of merchandise with the crown logo
city employees can get a 15% discount on crown-branded merchandise
704 Shop can’t sublicense the graphic design work to other vendors
704 Shop can’t use the crown logo “in any way that is obscene, violent, negative, disparaging, damaging or which damages the goodwill of the city”
There’s no mention of modeling. Lyles wasn’t paid for the photo shoot: The shop asked, and she agreed, said city spokesman Cory Burkarth.
The agreement expires in 2023 and, importantly, it does not contain an exclusivity agreement — which means that others are free to approach the city, too, to negotiate use of the crown logo.
“If there are other vendors here in town, there is nothing exclusive,” Burkarth said. “If there are other shops that want to look at it, they can.” He said 704 Shop is the only apparel vendor that had approached the city.
Burkarth said the city has reached other deals on use of the crown logo with the Charlotte Checkers, NASCAR and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, which wanted to paint the crown in end zones.
“Any time someone wants to use the logo, they come to us and they ask,” he says. “We look at teach request individually, and we decide where it fits with the city’s needs. Is it something we want the city’s logo attached to? What benefits does the city get out of it?”
He said the number of requests seems to be increasing: “People associate the crown with all the great things that are happening here.” —TM
Bank of America lists a dozen Mecklenburg branches as ‘temporarily closed’
Bank of America appears to have temporarily shut a handful of its Charlotte branches, according to its website.
The location finder feature says that the following branches are “temporarily closed”: Park Road, Sardis Village, Kenilworth Commons, South End, SouthPark (both locations), Carmel Commons, Beatties Ford Road, Carolina Place, Steele Creek, Prosperity Church Road and Huntersville.
Asked about the closures, a company spokesman said in a statement to The Ledger on Sunday:
We are operating with an abundance of caution around keeping employees and clients as safe as possible during coronavirus, and on occasion, have temporarily closed locations. When this happens, we work to ensure that the full service ATMs onsite are regularly restocked so that clients can still transact for the most common needs, along with our award winning mobile and online banking.
Frustration with the closures spilled over into social media over the weekend. On Nextdoor, a resident of Strawberry Hill wrote: “I needed to access my deposit box today, but to my surprise most (all?) branches are closed, ostensibly due to Covid. … Their website is not clear on this matter. You would think they would have sent email notices to their customers!”
As of Sunday, it had more than 130 replies. —TM
The greatest Charlotte marquee of all time
In response to our item last week about plans for Bojangles Coliseum to replace its longtime sign:
In brief:
Covid numbers keep worsening: Mecklenburg County reported 22 new Covid deaths last week, the highest number since February, as figures continued to rise and some are now approaching January’s peaks. The county reported 421 Covid patients hospitalized — more than 10 times the number from late June. The record for Covid hospitalizations was 530 on Jan. 13. Hospital officials have said more than 90% of recent Covid patients are unvaccinated. (Health Department)
Tepper swears on-air, would be OK with fine: Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper used some salty language on television during the team’s Friday preseason game. Talking about analytics used in decision-making, he said: “a lot of other, I was going to say s— but I can’t say that on TV. We’re not allowed to say that on TV.” When interviewer Steve Smith Sr. pointed out that he did swear on TV and could be fined, Tepper replied: “I’ll get a fine? I can afford it.” Tepper is the NFL’s wealthiest owner, with an estimated net worth of $14.5B. (Panthers)
Nursing shortage: The head of the N.C. Nurses Association says the state’s hospitals are struggling with huge shortages of nurses: “I don’t know of any major health care system in North Carolina right now that is not facing triple-digit shortages in terms of nursing personnel,” he said. (News & Observer)
More apartments for N.C. 51: A developer has submitted plans to knock down 66 apartments off Pineville-Matthews Road across from Providence High School and replace them with 300 new apartments in five buildings of up to 75 feet high. The rezoning petition by The Goldberg Cos. calls for redeveloping a portion of the Legacy Arboretum apartments on Echo Forest Drive, near the intersection of Pineville-Matthews and Hugh Forest Road. The site currently has 266 apartments, which would be increased to 500 if the city approves.
Private schools gain ground: Some local private schools appear to be retaining students who left public schools during Covid. About 19,000 Mecklenburg students were enrolled in private schools last year, up from about 18,500 five years ago. Several private schools — many of which kept students in classrooms last year more than Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools chose to — said that applications and enrollment have increased during the pandemic. (Observer, subscriber-only)
Taking stock
Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory