TO THE EDITOR:
Shame on The Daily Tar Heel. Mary Willingham and Jay Smith deserve public accolades for helping expose the corrupting influence of revenue sports at Carolina. Without actions like theirs, the “paper classes” might have gone on indefinitely, worsening the scandal the longer it lasted. Attacking Willingham and Smith puts the DTH firmly on the side of cover up, not cleanup.
The DTH condemned Willingham and Smith because their book might make some money and athletics is not their field. Costs in time and effort far outweigh the potential profits from such a book, but more importantly, how many newspapers play by these specious rules? Could the DTH publish at a loss? And limited background doesn’t stop good reporters from writing well about anything under the sun, even at the DTH.
The editorial also said Willingham “may have lied” on her research application. Maybe she made mistakes, maybe not, but this nasty smear implies that she’s been secretly hatching evil plans since 2008. How plausible is that? Newspapers make errors all the time. Are they always “lies?”
I agree this story should not be about individuals. Starting with senior administrators, we’ve heard endless vilification of individuals that deflects attention from the real scandal. Now the DTH has joined in, making the story ever more personal. Whose fault is that?
Harry Watson
Professor of History
