Dozens of recorders sat in front of him to pick up every single word he’d say in response to the Kenneth Wainstein report because every single word mattered. These weren’t his first comments on false paper classes and academic irregularities at UNC, but reporters still sat deadlocked on his face, refusing to turn their heads for a single second.
Eventually, he cracked. A distressed Williams couldn’t seem to hold it in anymore.
“Looking back,” a faint voice asked, “do you think your instincts were ... did you see the fire?”
“I didn’t see the smoke. I was naive. It’s my University. It’s the University of North Carolina — I went to school there, and I worked to get my degree,” Williams pleaded. “I sent my children there. You think I’d send my children to a place where they do silly things? I didn’t know. I don’t think I was supposed to know.”
Williams, who told Wainstein he was unaware of the irregular classes, was the first to admit that he didn’t agree with every element of the report. Wainstein cited an instance in which Williams supposedly held a meeting to inform a group of academic tutors that it was their job to keep his players eligible.
“Didn’t happen,” said Williams emphatically. “Did not happen.”
But the 1972 graduate who returned to coach for his alma mater in 2003 was also emphatic in acknowledging reality.
Ethics were thrown out the window. Staff members he worked so closely with embarrassed the University he loves so dearly.
