Former Football Coach Blake Received Money From Agent
Posted on Oct. 1, 2010Former Associate Head Coach John Blake, who resigned Sept. 5, received money from a sports agent who is a longtime friend of his, his lawyers acknowledged.
Blake received money from agent Gary Wichard, characterized by his attorneys as loans and as not having anything to do with 13 UNC players who played while Blake was at Carolina and now are represented by Wichard. The lawyers told The News & Observer of Raleigh that the payments ended about three years ago.
In a statement released Sept. 30, Athletics Director Dick Baddour ’66 said: “We became aware of some of the information through the NCAA investigation when John Blake was interviewed on Aug. 31. But financial transactions in and of themselves don’t establish a violation, and at that time we did not have enough information to dismiss him with cause.
“Nevertheless, we weren’t comfortable with what we learned. That, combined with the distraction that Coach Blake was becoming to the football program, led us to the conclusion that it was not in our best interest for him to continue to be part of our program. He offered to resign, and we agreed to terms on Sept. 5.” Baddour and Chancellor Holden Thorp ’86 have stood by a $74,500 severance allowance, which amounts to about what Blake would have been paid through this season.
An investigation by Yahoo Sports uncovered what Yahoo said were financial transactions between Blake and the agent. At question is whether Blake’s relationship with Wichard has a bearing on the current NCAA investigation into the activities of one or more Carolina players. Blake’s lawyers told the newspaper that they could not find evidence that Blake had intervened between Wichard and UNC football players.
The NCAA has ruled on one part of the investigation, ordering suspensions and repayment of improper benefits for senior players Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams. Burney, who received $1,333 in benefits, was suspended for six games and has been ordered to make a payment of $575.19 to a charity of his choice; Williams, who received $1,426 in benefits, was suspended for four games and was told to pay $450.67 to a charity of his choice. The payments were due before they could play again; Williams was reinstated for the Clemson game Oct. 9, and Burney for the William and Mary game Oct. 30.
The benefits included trips to California, Atlanta and Las Vegas for Burney and two trips to California for Williams. The majority of the benefits Burney received were from an individual who meets the NCAA definition of an agent. According to NCAA rules, an agent is any individual who markets or promotes a student-athlete. The majority of Williams’ benefits were preferential treatment violations associated with visiting a former Carolina football student-athlete. The former player was not identified.
The University appealed the length of the suspensions, calling them “excessive,” but the NCAA denied the appeal on Oct. 1.
The University statement concerning Burney and Williams continued:
“When a school discovers a student-athlete has been involved in an NCAA rules violation, it must declare the student-athlete ineligible and may request the student-athlete’s eligibility be reinstated to the NCAA national office staff for consideration. Reinstatement decisions are made independently of any NCAA enforcement process.
“During the reinstatement process, NCAA staff review each case on its own merits based on the specific facts. Staff decisions are made based on a number of factors including guidelines established by the Division I NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, the student-athlete’s responsibility for the violation, as well as any mitigating factors presented by the university.
“The university can appeal the decision to the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, an independent panel comprised of representatives from NCAA member colleges, universities and athletic conferences. This committee can reduce or remove the condition, but it cannot increase the staff-imposed conditions. If appealed, the student-athlete remains ineligible until the conclusion of the appeals process.”
More online…
- How the Tutoring Program and Honor System Work At UNC
News reports from October 2010 - NCAA Issues Suspensions, Repayment Orders for Two
News report from September 2010 - Possible Academic Misconduct New Focus of Football Probe
News report from September 2010 - NCAA Sends Investigators to Talk With UNC Athletes
News report from July 2010
