Athletes should give back financially to Carolina

TO THE EDITOR:

Last Friday, many former Carolina basketball players currently in the NBA played an alumni game to launch the year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of UNC basketball. Buzz Peterson was quoted as saying, “It’s not just a group of guys, it’s a family.”

Given the intense and apparently unusual loyalty that former players have to the Carolina team, imagine if they translated their feelings into philanthropy to honor the faculty, teaching assistants, fellow students and residents of North Carolina who provide the home for this “family.” A “$100 million for 100 years” endowment campaign by former athletes has a catchy ring.

This act of philanthropic leadership could support innovative UNC programs that might otherwise go wanting, or help students in financial need, or stimulate social change in Chapel Hill and North Carolina, or simply express their affection for a great institution like UNC-Chapel Hill.

The image of former athletes as a UNC family is heartwarming. Part of being in a family, perhaps the most important part, is accepting the responsibility to give back to those who provided the opportunities that created a family for us.


Lewis Margolis
Associate Professor
Public Health