David Williamson: UNC should accept penalties

Regarding the Oct. 26 news article “NCAA rejects UNC’s arguments about classes”: Top administrators at UNC-Chapel Hill are still trying to weasel out of having the university fully accept responsibility for the athletic and academic fraud that has plagued it for decades. The current crop of these highly overpaid academic bureaucrats now contends that the NCAA was remiss in not taking action against it earlier.

This is patently preposterous considering how the administration continually obfuscated details of the emerging scandal and dragged out releasing relevant information, sometimes for years. And when former chancellor James Moeser claimed he didn’t know athletes were being kept eligible through fraud, observers had to wonder was this man lying? Or was he just stupid?

Like me, at least hundreds of thousands of UNC alumni and supporters love the university. Overall, it’s a remarkable place, a national treasure. We want this sordid affair over. We also want the university administration to accept responsibility without interminable quibbling.

Furthermore, we want UNC representatives to accept without whining whatever punishment the NCAA deems appropriate.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 8:36 PM with the headline "David Williamson: UNC should accept penalties."