The Irish Way

Regarding your Dec. 28 editorial “A new ‘Way’”: What is the Carolina Way? Cheating, collusion, denials, rationalizations, a coach sacrificed, inept investigations, a chancellor pretending he resigned and insincere explanations packed with promises to “get to the bottom of this.”

Now, former Gov. Jim Martin adds to this in a letter to the editor: excuses, inexplicably dismissed issues and personal attacks – a hatchet job on The N&O staff and a faculty member, the only source of facts from the beginning. Failing to complete the assignment, he claimed to lack authority, scope and information. He did manage to become an advocate for the “MIA” athletic academic advisory committee – who might have violated NCAA rules.

UNC reached, got burned and did not come clean. It involved many sports over many years. It matters not that other schools do it, not if you want to prance about touting the Carolina Way.

Ex-Notre Dame (and N.C. State) football coach Lou Holtz said Notre Dame’s academic standards mean only 15 out of the top 100 football recruits are eligible to play for the Irish. Notre Dame’s football team’s average SAT was 1,300. Now that’s the Notre Dame Way. Oh, and while at Notre Dame, Holtz was paid $135,000 a year.

Jay Strong

Chapel Hill