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ThorpsCuriousDecision
- 1. by Matt Smith 2 years ago | 14745 views | 4 | 106 | | Former UNC head football coach Butch Davis was released from his duties Wednesday afternoon by UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp, a curious turn of events after Thorp pronounced his support of Davis multiple times over the last year. From the Cheap Seats: Thorp’s curious decision In just two short days, we’ve learned a lot about UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp. He’s either a shrewd business man, or one of the worst decision makers on the planet. Right now, I’m not sure which it is. Thorp announced early Wednesday evening that head football coach Butch Davis was fired immediately from his position, citing that to protect the university’s “academic integrity” a change needed to be made. After Davis was not implicated in the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations into the UNC football program, which found nine major violations, none explicitly naming Davis. The Tar Heels’ head football coach looked poised to lead his team through the disastrous mess that plagued the program last season until Wednesday’s announcement. Instead, in an abrupt change of face, Thorp removed his support from Davis after vehemently backing the head coach for months after the scandal broke. It would seem that without any new information on Davis’ involvement in the agent/academic scandal, the firing, just 37 days before Carolina’s season is set to begin, is a devastating turn of events, if not a curious decision. Without light of new evidence against Davis, the choice to remove him just a week before practice begins without a replacement seems one that will damage the football team beyond repair for the next decade. Thorp’s dismissal of Davis to save UNC’s academic reputation is a farce at the greatest level. The Chancellor, who squirmed his way through Thursday morning’s press conference preaching academic sustainability and honor, showed his true character, or lack thereof, yesterday with the reason behind Davis’ dismissal. A man sent to save honor can not do so without having honor himself. Instead of Thorp manning up and taking responsibility for the institution’s error in academic judgment, Davis was pushed onto the sword by men who once stood by his side, taking the downfall for Thorp’s lack of leadership and accountability on the academic side of the investigation. Davis was culpable for what his players did off the field. Accepting extra benefits, whether monetary or academic, should be punishable. Whether or not he should have been fired is a different question which falls solely on Thorp, but the timing of the firing is an outright disgrace to the university’s fans and players, and if anyone should be held accountable for their actions, it should be Thorp for allowing the academic side of the university to fail its students. Academic misconduct Thorp cited that the continued attacks on the university’s academic reputation were the prevailing factors contributing to Davis’ dismissal, stemming from the conduct of players and former tutor Jennifer Wiley. An investigation into Wiley’s relationship with players found that she gave players extra benefits after she joined UNC’s academic support team spearheaded by the university’s College of Arts and Sciences. The Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the time of Wiley’s recommendation? Mr. Holden Thorp. Fast forward to just a few months ago when it was found that former UNC defensive lineman Weather Sponsored By: Laurinburg, North Carolina Scattered clouds. Warm. 87 Degrees F Humidity: 65% - Wind: South, 12.64 mph Click for Detailed Forecast Lottery Sponsored By: North Carolina Lottery Jackpots Game Jackpot Draw Date Powerball $80.00 Million WED 07/10 MEGA Millions $12.00 Million TUE 07/09 Cash 5 $131,000 TUE 07/09 Home News Sports Obits Opinion Local Features Calendar Entertainment Classifieds Businesses My Content Subscription Forms Log In| The Laurinburg Exchange - From the Cheap Seats Thorp’s curious decision http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/pages/full_story/push?article-From... 1 of 3 7/9/2013 3:10 PM
- 2. Share This Article | Comments (4) Post a Comment hlr-123 | July 30, 2011 Reply Report Abuse HalK | July 30, 2011 McAdoo was found guilty by the honor court for improper citation, but was not dismissed. Thorp gave his support for McAdoo’s appeal to the NCAA after reviewing the paper, and again, Thorp and the academic department of the university goofed by not realizing that the majority of the paper was indeed copied. The embarrassment of the McAdoo lawsuit and Thorp’s continued blunders were too much for his ego to endure, and Thorp continued to wipe egg after egg off his face while providing evidence that he was unfit to lead one of the university’s highest positions. So for Thorp’s misfortunes, Davis will take the blame, despite the academic indiscretions that Thorp himself failed to recognize. Firing a football coach will help clean up the academic improprieties that so plague the university and devalue the UNC degree, right? The half dozen or so football players who were found guilty of academic violations are enough to bring down a historic university that has been handing out exceptional educations for over 200 years, right? A leader making the call for integrity when he possesses a broken moral compass can not, and should not, captain the ship. Disingenuous decision The Chancellor and the players do have one thing in common though. They’re both amateurs in their profession, as Thorp showed he has the strength of a wounded animal when the NCAA came in for the kill strike. When Davis was hired by UNC four seasons ago, I thought that he would be the one to betray UNC for a better position down the line. Now we know that it was the university that betrayed him. Despite putting his best foot forward in helping to clean up a system wide academic scandal, Davis was given no praise by the administration for his work in purging the program of the players that accosted the university after they found out about their wrong-doing. Instead, Thorp ran like a dog with its tail between its legs while a real man of integrity was sent packing. The decision, Thorp said, was his alone, but the introduction of new Board of Trustees members around the announcement of Davis being fired is too big of a connection to ignore. Thorp’s comments seem disingenuous at best, and downright lying at other times. UNC fans waited with baited breath for word of a possible death penalty after news of the scandal broke last summer; they just didn’t expect that it would come from the university itself instead of the NCAA Enforcement Committee. Thorp, you said that for UNC to regain its standing in the world of academia, a change had to be made. You were right; a change in UNC leadership should be made. The school just made the wrong one. similar stories Scouts cross over | 23 days ago Spencer to resign seat | 20 days ago Election filing begins July 5 | 13 days ago Hammond files for council | 3 days ago Ebike enthusiast | 4 days ago Please continue to write on this subject until the current Chancellor is gone. If this does not stay in the news it will be forgotten and UNC will never have a program above what they have currently. I feel this is what some of the elitist prefer. From what I hear, Holden Thorp is a brilliant and innovative chemist and musician....his CV is stuffed with achievement...he has divined the structures of nucleic acids, synthesized some, Stocks Sponsored By: Indexes Last Change Chg % NASDAQ 3484.83 5.45 0.16% DJIA 15224.69 88.85 0.59% S&P/TSX Comp 12208.87 73.96 0.61% Get Quote NYSE/AMEX data delayed 20 minutes. NASDAQ and other data delayed 15 minutes, Dow Jones Indexes are updated daily and reflect End of Day Pricing Gas Prices Sponsored By: Average $3.37 Lowest $3.18 Highest $3.50 View Laurinburg, NC Gas Prices Featured Businesses Tony Poole's Body Shop Tony Poole's Body Shop was established in 1979 by Tony Poole. First the business was located on S. Main St in Laurinburg, then at Hwy 401S & Academy Rd. We have now moved to our... One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning | Simmons Heating and Air Log In| The Laurinburg Exchange - From the Cheap Seats Thorp’s curious decision http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/pages/full_story/push?article-From... 2 of 3 7/9/2013 3:10 PM
- 3. Reply Report Abuse Archer2 | July 29, 2011 Reply Report Abuse wilsurto | July 29, 2011 Reply Report Abuse Carolina boy, who I am sure loves his state and his University. I bet he can paint and sculpt and write poetry in Sanskrit too. But he ain't no executive, which unfortunately is his position at this time. He failed to learn the fundamental rule of executive responsibility, taught at the lowest levels of OCS and Command and General Staff schools: "The Commander is always Responsible." "IF" no further incriminating evidence against Davis is forthcoming, Thorpe will have shown himself to be incompetent(for not catching the academic allegations twice), spineless(for continually expressing his support of Davis and then stabbing him in the back at the eleventh hour), deceitful(in using Davis to raise money for Kenan's expansion and to sell season tickets), and a downright liar. Again barring any disclosure of incriminating evidence against Davis, he deserves to be summarily fired. Great Article! Thorpe actions are an embarrassment to Students and Fans. He needs step down, because his actions clearly show how inept he is at handling his post. How did this Bozo get to Chancellor? He is the epitome of the "Peter Principle", reminding me of the man who was in charge of FEMA when Katrina happened. The Trustees should step down too! Evidently they proved they will support anything the Chancellor does. Didn't they also support the backing of Davis? Definitively a bunch of Lemmings for sure! source for prompt, courteous, reliable heating and air service. Offering heating and air conditioning maintenance, installa... Multitudes Church Multitudes is a place where people meet to worship God, and "see" the scriptures put to modern day parables, just like Jesus did. If you feel like Church is the last place you w... Recipes Sponsored By: Penne with Broccoli Rabe and Pancetta Try this meal from our Pasta category! Click for More Ideas Home About Us Contact Us Subscribe News Online Forms Submit a Story Sports Submit a Story Opinion Editorials Send a Letter Local Features Contests Online Features Online Forms Calendar Post an Event Subscription Forms New Delivery Gift Subscription Vacation Stop/Restart Change of Address Delivery Issues Upgrade Software powered by Radiate Media. Content © 2013 The Laurinburg Exchange Terms of Service Agreement The Laurinburg Exchange is in Laurinburg, NC. Log In| The Laurinburg Exchange - From the Cheap Seats Thorp’s curious decision http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/pages/full_story/push?article-From... 3 of 3 7/9/2013 3:10 PM