Rashad McCants Says He Took Sham Classes (UPDATED)

((HT: ESPN/Delsohn))

Yes, the HQ knows you're shocked and stunned...

Steve Delsohn over at the Mothership has been chasing the problems at the University of North Carolina involving their alleged joke of an African-American Studies Department and how it was, basically, an assembly line for not attending class and getting good grades as long as you played along.

McCants and as many as 14 other players were involved in the major and he even had an appearance on the Dean's List with that as his major.

The Raleigh News and Observer reported that basketball players were in the major back in that championship season of 2005 in their initial reporting back in 2012.

Here's a snippet of McCants interview


And here's the initial Sara Ganim report on CNN with UNC whistleblower Mary Willingham


Obviously, the University is refuting McCants' claims and Willingham's study into the department.

CBS' Gary Parrish caught up with Williams, via Parrish's Twitter is the response:

“In no way did I know about or do anything close to what he says.”

UNC Suspends Research Privileges Of Critical Adviser

((HT: WRALSportsfan.com))

Mary Willingham has seven years of research that shows that UNC athletes in football and basketball are way behind their peers when it comes to reading levels. 60-percent, from 2003 to 2010 according to Willingham, were at elementary school levels and another 10-percent were at a third-grade level.

For whatever reason, the school is now telling Willingham that she has to stop doing her job because, according to WRAL-TV in Raleigh: "she can't continue to use data with information that could identify the subjects until she applies to the university's review board that governs human research."

Willingham said she's going to re-apply...

And the HQ will love to see what explanation-slash-excuse the school gives when they deny her privileges on the rebound...

Here's the Sara Ganim piece that seems to have started the furor-and-a-half...
((HT: CNN))


Chancellor Sarah Folt has challenged Willingham's numbers, but has issued an open letter to anyone willing to read saying that she cares:

"I take these claims very seriously, but we have been unable to reconcile these claims with either our own facts or with those data currently being cited as the source for the claims. Moreover, the data presented in the media do not match up with those data gathered by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions."

"Only two of the 321 student-athletes admitted in 2012 and 2013 fell below the SAT and ACT levels that were cited in a recent CNN report as the threshold for reading levels for first-year students. And those two students are in good academic standing."

The only problem with that second paragraph the HQ has in bold is that Willingham's numbers are from 2003-2010. Folt's admissions numbers are for two years later...

Jus' saying...