Chansky’s Notebook: Who Says?

Letters to the editor are not free to libel and shame people.

The Daily Tar Heel, which for almost 200 years has taken pride in its independence at UNC, published a letter this week from a former Chapel Hill sportswriter named Patrick O’Neill. Reading the letter, one has to wonder whether O’Neill has a long-standing bone to pick with Carolina or college athletics in general.

He makes absurd declarative statements with absolutely no substantiation, and most of them have been proven to be patently untrue. He calls Roy Williams a liar and an inherently dishonest man, which anyone who knows Roy will dispute loudly. Williams may have some foibles, one being that he often says too much, but Williams never lies. It’s in his upbringing, his DNA, his gizzard not to lie.

O’Neill calls the recent national championship an illicit and dishonorable achievement because 12 years ago the 2005 NCAA champs had some ineligible players and, because of that, the latest title is tainted by Williams being a morally ineligible coach. Who says? Patrick O’Neill says, without a hint of validation.

O’Neill says that during the recent NCAA Tournament, the UNC investigation got no mention. In fact, it was sports front news in the New York Times and USA Today, among other publications. He quotes Williams as saying “some mistakes were made” by the university and then calls him a liar because Williams said he had no knowledge of any irregularities going on within his own program. Who says otherwise? Patrick O’Neill does, without knowing the truth.

O’Neill’s main source is Rashad McCants who said he took five independent study courses in his last semester and asked tutors to write all of his papers. He quotes McCants as saying, “We weren’t really there for an education.” Maybe McCants wasn’t and, if so, that was his fault. Why don’t students who take advantage of flaws in the educational system have any culpability?

O’Neill says Williams didn’t play by the rules and consequently he, his basketball program and the entire university will be remembered as cheaters. Who says? Patrick O’Neill says.