Chapter
Two
John
Blake resigns; football players suspended
On August 26, 2010, just over a month after the NC
Secretary of State had opened its investigation into possible agent
infractions, the NCAA announced that it may have discovered potential academic
fraud at UNC. The details were first
divulged in an August 26, 2010, email from Joni Worthington, the Vice President
for Communications at UNC, to Erskine Bowles, who at the time was President of
the University of North Carolina System.
The email exchange would eventually be made public, along with a
follow-up message he sent to the UNC System Board of Governors later that
evening. Bowles is a 1967 graduate of
UNC.
The initial email from Worthington to Bowles contained
information from a variety of media stories that would soon be dispersed to the
public, all based on a news conference that was held at UNC on the evening of
the 26th. In the emails were
numerous quotes from UNC officials as they had become aware of the academic
issues. With the news that the NCAA had
expanded its investigations into academics, Chancellor Holden Thorp was quoted
as saying, “We are treating this with the seriousness you would expect from
this university. We will figure this
out… We hope the scope of this is limited.” Athletics Director Dick Baddour indicated
that while the current focus was on football, that the school would look at it
as an opportunity to look into the tutoring program within other athletic
programs. A quote within Worthington’s
email from head football coach Butch Davis read, “Nothing is more important
than the character… and integrity of this football program.”
Other vitally important information regarding Butch Davis
was included in the forthcoming news stories that were documented in
Worthington’s email to Bowles. A former
UNC tutor was at the center of the NCAA’s current investigation, and Davis
revealed that the tutor in question “is someone that has previously been
employed by our family.” The woman in
question, Jennifer Wiley, was let go from her job by UNC as a tutor – but was
then, according to Davis, hired by his family “to be an academic coach and academic
advisor. This is someone who worked with
our son, and to be honest with you, we’re a little bit surprised and possibly
disappointed.”
The follow-up email that Bowles sent to the other members
of the Board of Governors stated in part that, “We do not know the extent of
these problems at this time. But we are
investigating this matter fully and as expeditiously as possible, and we will
get to the bottom of it. And when we do
we will deal with it appropriately as you would expect the university to do.” The
“University,” of course, being the school from where he graduated. And to further punctuate that theme, a total
of eleven Board members received their undergraduate degrees at UNC, far
out-pacing the other universities in the system. The next highly-represented school had only
four undergraduate members on the Board of Governors. When the parameters were widened to include
graduate degrees, UNC checked in with well over twenty representatives on the
Board of Governors.
*
* *
Player suspensions would begin to follow soon thereafter,
though only one was mandated by the school.
Despite being at the center of the controversy for several months,
Marvin Austin had been allowed to continue representing the university and the
football team. On September 1st,
however, it was announced that coach Butch Davis had suspended him indefinitely
for “violating unspecified team rules,” according to various news agencies,
including a story that appeared on ESPN’s website. Even still, UNC tried to distance itself from
the negative stigma of an NCAA investigation – something that would be a common
tactic in the years to come. Instead of
referring to the NCAA’s presence as an investigation, whenever a UNC official
spoke of the issues it was simply referred to as a “review.” This was seemingly an attempt to lessen the
seriousness of the charges in the eyes and ears of the general public.
With regards to Austin, Butch Davis had this to say: “This decision is not a result of the ongoing
NCAA review. Marvin has violated team
rules and has neglected his responsibilities to the team.” This suspension was issued just three days
prior to the team’s season-opening game against Louisiana State University, and
early indications from unnamed sources said that the team might be without
other players for that contest as well.
That same ESPN article reported that the school was exploring the
possibility of “rolling suspensions” that would allow them to spread the
absence of players over multiple games, in effect lessening the impact on the
team as a whole. In what would appear to
be an attempted gag order, the school cancelled all scheduled media
availability with players prior to the LSU game.
It
was also reported that the school was working with the NCAA in order to
determine who would and would not be allowed to make the trip, and which
players should be held out for precautionary reasons. That is, which players’ names might surface
in the near future in relation to NCAA violations. Through past examples of other schools’ transgressions,
it was well known that if a player is later determined to have played while
ineligible, then the school would have to retroactively vacate any and all team
wins in which that player participated.
This common understanding would be a major point in the years and events
yet to come in the scandal, especially once UNC’s basketball team (and its
numerous national titles) entered the fray.
* * *
On September 3rd, one day before the LSU
football game, six UNC starters were initially declared ineligible for
“violating school and/or NCAA rules,” the university announced. Those starters included Marvin Austin, which
was somewhat expected, as well as Charles Brown, Robert Quinn, Michael McAdoo,
Kendric Burney, and Greg Little. Six
non-starters were withheld from the game based on the current and ongoing NCAA
investigation. Those players were Shaun
Draughn, Linwan Euwell, Brian Gupton, Ryan Houston, Da’Norris Searcy, and
Jonathan Smith. Furthermore, safety
Deunta Williams was declared ineligible late Friday (the night before the
game), while two other players – linebackers Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter –
were cleared to play.
Many of the facts were still unknown at this point,
especially in terms of the actual violations.
As noted by the various news reports that were referenced at the
beginning of the chapter via Joni Worthington’s email to Erskine Bowles, the
NCAA was investigating not only possible improper contact with agents, but also
looking into allegations of academic misconduct by some of the players. UNC Athletics Director Dick Baddour said in a
statement, “We are still working with the NCAA staff to resolve these
eligibility issues. The NCAA is focusing
on each of their situations on a case-by-case basis. Together we are working to determine their
status in as thorough and fair a process as is possible.” It was also revealed on
that same Friday that investigators from the NC Secretary of State’s office had
subpoenaed Marvin Austin in relation to sports-agent laws. UNC would go on to lose that opening game
against LSU, 30-24.
*
* *
On September 5th, the day after the LSU loss,
another domino in the scandal would fall.
John Blake, who had been near the center of the ignominy and its
blossoming controversies, resigned his coaching position with the football
team. He gave a fairly detailed
statement:
“While I have enjoyed my tenure at the
University of North Carolina, it has become apparent to me over the course of
the past few weeks that my presence has become a distraction to my family and
to this great University, too. Consequently, I have determined that it is in
the best interests of my family, the University community at large, and the
Football Program for me to step down from my position as associate head
football coach effective today, September 5, 2010.
“I thank the Lord for the opportunity I
have had to work with Butch Davis while at the University of North Carolina. I
have grown to love and respect the school, my fellow coaches, and the young men
who have worked so diligently to improve both as students and as football
players. That love and respect has led me to the conclusion that the best
decision for all involved is for me to step aside at this time. I wish the
players, the coaches, and the University all the best.
“I thank the Tar Heel Nation for the
overwhelming support I have received. The memories I have made here will last a
lifetime. May God bless you all.”
Furthermore, statements were also given by head coach
Butch Davis and also Athletics Director Dick Baddour. The words from Davis especially stood out, as
once again they reiterated the close working relationship that the two men had
shared over the years:
“Knowing John as I have over the years,
it is clear that this was a difficult decision for him to make. I know how much
John loves the players, coaching and the game of football. I am grateful for
all of his hard work and effort in helping build this program. As difficult as
this situation is, I have accepted his resignation. Throughout his career, I
know he has worked hard to help young men become better people and football
players. He and his family have made positive contributions to our football
program.
“The Tar Heel family has tremendous
passion for the University and everything it represents. It’s one of the things
that made me want to be a Tar Heel four years ago. All of us who are part of
the football program have been both disappointed and embarrassed by recent
events. Our student athletes, coaches and I are committed to working every day,
both on and off the field, to build a better football program, one that
everyone associated with the University of North Carolina can and will be proud
of.”
In a somewhat puzzling move, the
university chose to pay Blake a prorated amount of his annual $240,000 salary
equaling $74,500, which was equivalent to the amount he would have received had
he completed the football season through the month of December. This decision was made despite the mounting
evidence that seemed to indicate that Blake had broken numerous NCAA rules, as
well as put the school in jeopardy for further sanctions.
* * *
Following the resignation of John
Blake, it was announced that linebackers’ coach Art Kaufman along with Norris
McCleary, a member of the team’s support staff in player development and a
former NFL lineman, would take over some of the defensive line coaching duties
that Blake had left vacant. Butch Davis
also indicated that he would become more involved with some of the day-to-day
coaching and meetings than in the past, according to an online USA Today article published on September
7th.
McCleary’s name was one that showed
up in great detail within John Blake’s university phone records, and during
some troubling stretches of times. His
prior background was one that was heavily entrenched in athletics. He played football at East Carolina
University, and then had a multi-year stint in the NFL as a defensive
lineman. Though he was only officially
promoted to an on-field “coaching” position once John Blake resigned, the phone
records seemed to indicate that he had a very close relationship with Blake,
regardless.
On
the afternoon and evening of the NCAA’s first on-campus interviews with UNC
players, John Blake spoke with McCleary four different times. These calls were within close proximity with
contacts Blake made with Todd Amis, NFL agent Gary Wichard, and several players
who were under scrutiny by the NCAA. All
told, Blake and McCleary had over 350 phone contacts between April and
September of 2010, some of the prime months of the blossoming agent portion of
the scandal. These were often closely
intermixed with calls Blake had to (or from) players such as Marvin Austin,
Robert Quinn, and Quinton Coples, and also with NFL agent Wichard.
McCleary’s departure from the school
was unceremonious and apparently without fanfare, as few news stories on him
are to be found. According to his
LinkedIn page, his employment with UNC ended in December of 2012. As of late 2013 he was listed under several
job capacities. He was working as a
coach with the West Charlotte football team, he was a broker in the Charlotte
area, and was also CEO of Mack’s Player Development. Regarding the latter position, he indicates
on that same LinkedIn page that he “train develop current college an NFL
players. I've train 1st round picks and college free agents.” One
area that catches the eye is that from early 2008 until March of 2010 – his
date of hire at UNC – he was self-described as being involved in “Pro Athlete
Investment.” As evidenced by his own stated past work parameters, he was
involved with the training and apparent integration of professional athletes
both immediately before and immediately after his coaching tenure at UNC. Whether coincidentally or not, the many phone
contacts he had with John Blake show a timely connection with NFL agents –
again, while he was on staff at UNC.
Another member of the football
team’s assistance staff who (on paper) held a relatively minor role was Johnny
Vines. Like McCleary, however, he
appeared to play a much larger role based on his contacts with John Blake. Vines was a simple video coordinator for the
football team at the time, but phone records show a pattern very similar to
that of McCleary’s. The contacts Blake
had with Vines were often surrounded by names such as Marvin Austin, Gary
Wichard, and others who were entangled in impermissible benefits. And along with McCleary, Johnny Vines was the
only non-player whom John Blake contacted during that late night flurry of
calls on July 11th, just prior to the first NCAA interviews.
* * *
According to a USA Today article published during the second week of September,
2010, several of the university’s decision-making organizations had finally
begun to take notice of the scandal. Bob
Winston, the chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, indicated that the
issues would likely be discussed during their next meeting. Furthermore, the university’s 92-member
faculty council was scheduled to get a briefing in the following few days from
Chancellor Holden Thorp. Regarding that
upcoming meeting, faculty chair McKay Coble said, “I think it will be
respectful. And I think there will be
some pointed questions.”
All
of the negative attention was something that many who were associated with the
university were unaccustomed to. At the
time, only seven programs in what were considered college athletics’ “marquee”
conferences had gone as long as the past 26 years without a major NCAA
infractions case. UNC was one of those,
which undoubtedly contributed to the “Carolina Way” mantra that had been
repeated by its supporters over the years.
According to Chancellor Thorp, “We’re concerned and devastated to be in
this situation. We’ve had 50 years here
without having to go through this sort of thing. The way we respond is really important.”
Board
of Trustees Chairman Bob Winston displayed a similar sentiment, saying “Everybody
has the same idea… that we’ve got to get to the bottom of this, whatever it is
it is, and deal with it and, if there are changes to be made, make the
changes. But this isn’t the way we’re
going to do business.” Winston went on to reiterate, “We will look ourselves in the mirror
at the end, and make sure the answer is it’s incidental.” That line of thought was often repeated at
the beginning of the scandal by those who represented the school, either
athletically, administratively, academically, or via the alumni – that the
university would do whatever it took to get to the bottom of the issues. As documentation would later show, that tone
would change a number of months later – once football was no longer the sole
athletic program that had exhibited questionable practices.
* * *
After a couple of weeks of relative silence, more bad
news surfaced on September 22nd with an official suspension (via the
NCAA) of defensive players Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams. The offense was receiving improper benefits,
and the NCAA stipulated for Burney to miss a total of six games and Williams four. As covered in Chapter One, Burney and
Williams were among six underclassmen who chose to return to UNC for their
senior seasons instead of entering the NFL draft, along with fellow suspended
players Marvin Austin and Greg Little.
The final two players, Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter, had recently
been cleared by the school. Any
potential NCAA penalties against them were still up in the air at that point in
time.
The impermissible benefits given to Burney and Williams
were associated with trips to California, Atlanta, and Las Vegas for Burney,
and two trips to California for Williams.
Based on comments made by head coach Butch Davis on his radio show, the
players would apparently only face penalties from the NCAA. “If and when they come back,” said Davis,
“they’ll certainly be welcome additions.” Dick Baddour described the length of the
suspensions as being “unduly harsh.”
Sources familiar with the situation at the time told the Associated Press that the “agent” in
Burney’s case was Chris Hawkins, a former football player initially at UNC
(from 2001-03) before getting kicked off the team. He would eventually continue his career with
Marshall University. A week prior, in
response to questions regarding Hawkins, Athletics Director Baddour said that
Hawkins had been around the players and program “periodically” over the
years. According to a source that spoke
with espn.com for a September 2010
article, UNC players told investigators that Hawkins had contacted several
sports agents about their interest in representing UNC players in the NFL
draft. Hawkins was designated as an
agent by the NCAA in part due to his connection with University of Georgia
receiver A.J. Green. Hawkins purchased a
jersey from Green for $1,000, which would land Green with a multiple-game
suspension.
A UNC official stated (in the same ESPN article) that
Hawkins had frequently visited the North Carolina football facility during the
previous few years, including a visit during the summer of 2010 in which he
worked out with former UNC (and Pittsburgh Steeler) player Willie Parker in
UNC’s weight room. According to the
school official, Hawkins had often described himself as Parker’s manager. At the time of Burney’s suspension announcement
Hawkins had pending felony charges of trafficking cocaine, as well as misdemeanor
charges of possession of marijuana. The
legal troubles would later continue for Hawkins. In May of 2012 he was arrested by the Kinston
(NC) Department of Public Safety and charged with discharging a weapon into an
occupied dwelling.
*
* *
Despite
having already resigned from UNC’s staff, a huge blow was dealt to the
reputation of former associate head coach John Blake with the release of a Yahoo! Sports article on September 29th. The investigative article (penned by Charles
Robinson) detailed just how closely Blake was associated with NFL agent Gary
Wichard, and supplied even deeper details into their professional
relationship. The four-month
investigation by Yahoo! Sports showed
that Blake and Wichard had engaged in multiple financial transactions over the
prior three-plus years. Hotel receipts
from one of Marvin Austin’s California training trips were obtained, and they
listed Austin’s name along with Pro Tect Management, which was Gary Wichard’s
agency.
A
myriad of facts were presented, which included evidence of at least six wire
transfers from Wichard’s private bank to Blake, a $45,000 personal loan to
Blake from that same bank, and a credit card in the name of Wichard’s NFL
agency – Pro Tect Management – issued in Blake’s name. As previously established, Todd Amis wrote
checks to cover Marvin Austin’s flights to California, and Blake was often in
contact with Amis – a minimum of 80 times in 2009, and a minimum of 69 times in
2010.
Shortly
after the release of Charles Robinson’s article, UNC head football coach Butch
Davis issued a bold statement: “Let me
tell you, here’s how I feel: I am very sorry that all of this stuff has tainted
the football program. But I’m going to
tell you what I’m more sorry about, I’m sorry that I trusted John Blake. I can promise and tell you, that if we
would’ve ever known that if any of these allegations were absolutely true,
Coach Blake would have been dismissed. I
would have fired him.” This was in
reference to a man whom Davis had taught in high school, whom he had coached
with on the same NFL defensive staff, and whom he had hired away from Nebraska
to be his associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. A man whom, by all indications, Davis was
very familiar with – and for a very long time.
And a man whom the university chose to pay nearly $75,000, despite the
fact that Blake resigned by his own accord, and could have soon been fired for
just cause regardless.
*
* *
More bad news would surface less than two weeks later
when, on October 11, 2010, football players Gregg Little and Robert Quinn would
be declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA.
According to an espn.com
article, Little and Quinn received travel accommodations and jewelry, and then
lied about it to investigators in three separate interviews. In a twist of irony, it was not fully
revealed until late 2013 that Little was never completely honest even then, and
that the NCAA was unable to uncover the true amounts of illegal benefits. It was only during the series of Secretary of
State indictments (covered in a later chapter) that those full details would
emerge.
At the time, Athletics Director Dick Baddour said that
head coach Butch Davis continues to have “my complete support.” He went on to say, “I feel very strong about our compliance staff, about our
compliance program. I feel very strong
about this football program, as I do the other programs that we have. I think we’re in good stead. I’m going to fight the institutional control
issues because of what we had in place and because of the way we’re handling
it.” Baddour went on to acknowledge that
the football program should have done more to monitor its high-profile
players. “We should’ve been doing
something else. We should’ve
acknowledged the level that these guys are and that there were going to be
people coming at them… I wish we had done more.
I’d like to relive that part.” Regarding Greg Little’s illegal benefits,
Baddour was quick to point out that none of those impermissible extras were
received during Little’s 10-game stint as a reserve on the university’s prized
basketball team during its Final Four run in 2008.
*
* *
A disturbing story of potential bias surfaced on November
14, 2010, via the Raleigh News and
Observer. It reported that Cynthia
Reynolds, formerly the UNC football team’s academic coordinator, had filed an age
discrimination grievance against the school with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission. According to
documents that were filed a month earlier, Reynolds claims she was moved out of
her position because head coach Butch Davis wanted a younger “face” for the
academic support program for recruiting purposes. Reynolds, 56 years old at the time, had been
hired by the university in 2002 as an associate director of the Academic
Support Program for Student Athletes.
She had primarily worked with the football program until she was
reassigned to Olympic sports in August of 2009, and she was eventually not
renewed in August of 2010.
Reynolds’ replacement was 29-year-old Beth Bridger, whom
Reynolds described as an “excellent learning specialist” who also was in charge
of hiring and training the mentors and tutors.
Coincidentally, Jennifer Wiley – one of the primary suppliers of
impermissible benefits during the football scandal – was a tutor with the
school. Her significant role will be
further expanded upon later. Reynolds
originally filed a grievance with the university, reported the News and Observer, but that was denied
by the panel of the EPA Non-Faculty Grievance Committee. She was notified of that decision via a
letter she received from Chancellor Holden Thorp. Reynolds stated, “I think it’s important to
make the point that even though I was an ‘at-will’ employee, you can’t get rid
of somebody (because) you want someone younger in the position. There are policies, and you have to follow them.”
*
* *
In late 2010 the university released a list of names of
individuals known to have provided impermissible benefits to football
players. One was the
previously-mentioned former tutor and student with the school, Jennifer
Wiley. Amongst the remaining names was a
Florida-based jeweler, three individuals tied to professional sports agencies,
a former Maryland football player, and three former UNC football players –
Hakeem Nicks, Omar Brown, and Mahlon Carey.
In
a November 18th meeting of the school’s Board of Trustees,
Chancellor Holden Thorp spoke (along with Athletics Director Dick Baddour and head
football coach Butch Davis) in order to update the Board members on the
scandal. Thorp concluded his comments
that day by saying, “I hope you can see how diligently and sincere the three of
us have worked on this. This is a challenge and a difficult thing that the
University has gone through, but the difficult decisions that we had to make
are ones that everybody agreed were in the best interest of the University. As
a leader, what you look for is when you have a group of people responsible for
doing difficult things, if everybody feels like they had a chance to speak
their mind (and) if everybody agrees at the end to do what's best for the
University. That's what makes me feel good about Butch Davis being our football
coach, about Dick Baddour being our athletics director and about the football
program at the University of North Carolina.”
Head
football coach Butch Davis made platitudes of his own, stating, “There is no one single player and
there is no one single game and there is no one single season worth the
character and integrity of this institution and this University. That's my
commitment and my pledge to you as we move forward into the future of this
program.” Despite the mounting negative
stories surrounding the school, many of which threatened its long-standing
solid reputation, some affiliated with the school’s Board appeared more
interested in how athletics were faring.
When it came time for follow-up questions from the members, an
unidentified trustee could be heard on the live video feed of the meeting
asking Butch Davis how the ongoing review was “affecting recruiting.”
*
* *
The essential (and unanswered)
questions:
-- Did the heavy representation
of UNC graduates on the Board of Governors play a role (at any time) during the
scandal?
-- Why did the
university choose to pay John Blake nearly $75,000 in pay that he had, by all
indications, not earned?
-- What larger role (if
any) did people like Norris McCleary and Johnny Vines play with regards to the
football issues?
-- Why did the team
allow a former player – who had been kicked out of the program years prior – to
have on-facility access to their current players?
-- Why did head coach
Butch Davis personally hire a former UNC tutor – even after it was known that
the tutor had essentially been fired by the university?