TO THE EDITOR:
The Wainstein report is neither shocking nor unexpected. In the Division 1 culture such a large emphasis is placed on athletics that the fact a university would resort to academic fraud comes as no real shock. The report today is a mere indication of the overall problem inside collegiate athletics. Players are athletes first and students as an afterthought. They are pawns in a greater shell game of financial gains and prestige. This is not a UNC problem, it is a cultural problem in the United States as a whole. Who is to blame? Everyone who tunes into a college game on Saturday, who places bets with the sports books, everyone who fills out a bracket in the spring. We as a whole must accept the responsibility.
Who suffers the most? It’s the student-athletes, who are are promised a first-class education. Never in all the pages of the report did anyone ask, “How are we going to educate these kids?” It was always, “How are we going to keep them eligible?” The coaches who insulated themselves so they could pass down an edict and turn a blind eye hold as much accountability as those who passed these kids to a fake class system meant to defraud the University, the NCAA, the state of North Carolina and most importantly, the students themselves.
L.W. Marshall
Charlotte
