“Certainly, Larry understands the connection between football and CTE,” UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham said Thursday at the UNC Board of Trustees meeting.

Those comments came after head football coach Larry Fedora made some controversial statements at ACC Media Day in Charlotte where the coach said that football was “under attack” and that it has not been proven that football causes CTE, the degenerative brain disease that has made national headlines in recent years as former NFL players have tested positive for the disease following their deaths.

One piece that made Fedora’s comments come under increased scrutiny is the fact that he is the coach at UNC – Chapel Hill, home to the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center, and Kevin Guskiewicz, who is globally regarded as one of the leading researching in this field.

“I was surprised by some of the comments yesterday,” Guskiewicz, who is now the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC, said on Thursday. “But, in the moment, I know deep down he’s somebody who cares deeply about the health and safety of our players.”

Fedora and Guskiewicz have worked closely during their tenures in Chapel Hill.

“A lot of the work that we started here years ago, that Coach Fedora has supported when he arrived here about five years ago, has actually led to changes in the kickoff and a number of other rules at every level of play,” Guskiewicz said. “So, he’s been part of helping to improve health and safety in the sport.”

Cunningham said working at UNC – Chapel Hill, with the strong research coupled with major athletics, created a “great environment, where the health and safety of our students is first and foremost.”

He referenced watching Guskiewicz conduct research at the University of Oklahoma during his time as the athletics director at the University of Tulsa.

“I was thinking, ‘Boy, wouldn’t it be great to be at a place that really took that great of care of their student-athletes,’” Cunningham said. “And now we’re here. And Larry has been integral in helping with that research and making the students successful. And there’s an awful lot of research done on the students.”

While Cunningham admitted that Fedora’s comments “didn’t come off that well,” he said that Fedora has been a key figure in making football safer to play by working closely with Guskiewicz.

“Playing football carries a lot of risk,” Cunningham said. “But playing here minimizes that risk. And I know they’re both working at, how do we make the game safer? Because we had a lot of concussions in multiple sports – whether it’s lacrosse or soccer or any of the other ones.

“But we want kids to play; we want them to play in a very safe environment. And that’s where I think that research has really helped us.”

An article from Yahoo! Sports said that there is some validity to Fedora’s comments.

The full transcript from Cunningham and Guskiewicz speaking with reporters on Thursday is below:

Bubba Cunningham:

Certainly, Larry understands the connection between football and CTE. I think Larry was really concerned about the health and safety of students. I don’t think it came across that well, obviously. But Kevin has been absolutely fantastic in working with our football program.

And we’re lucky to be working in such a great environment, where the health and safety of our students is first and foremost, and Larry feels that way. And, again, it was just poorly communicated yesterday. But he’s passionate about protecting his students; he’s passionate about the game of football, and it just didn’t come off that well. But Kevin has been absolutely fantastic.

I was at Tulsa seven, eight years ago, and they were studying Oklahoma. And I remember sitting at Tulsa and going, ‘My gosh, look at the great things they’re doing.’ And Kevin was actually doing that research. I was thinking, ‘Boy, wouldn’t it be great to be at a place that really took that great of care of their student-athletes.’ And now we’re here. And Larry has been integral in helping with that research and making the students successful. And there’s an awful lot of research done on the students.

Playing football carries a lot of risk. But playing here minimizes that risk. And I know they’re both working at, how do we make the game safer? Because we had a lot of concussions in multiple sports – whether it’s lacrosse or soccer or any of the other ones.

But we want kids to play; we want them to play in a very safe environment. And that’s where I think that research has really helped us.

Kevin Guskiewicz:

We’re very proud of the work that we do here at Carolina with regard to improving health and safety in all sports, not just football. And, as Bubba just said, a lot of the work that we started here years ago, that Coach Fedora has supported when he arrived here about five years ago, has actually led to changes in the kickoff and a number of other rules at every level of play. So, he’s been part of helping to improve health and safety in the sport.

So, yes, I was surprised by some of the comments yesterday. But in the moment, I know deep down he’s somebody who cares deeply about the health and safety of our players. And this will pass.