The Confusing Cases of Josh Gordon, PJ Hairston and A Common Thread

The first wrong doer of the weekend: Suspended Cleveland Browns WR Josh Gordon. Gordon, who unquestionably is one of the most talented receivers in the NFL, has had more than his fair share of skirmishes with the law and with substances.

Gordon sat for 2 games in 2013 for legal issues and there is a real fear in the Browns camp and by friends of Gordon that he has a substance abuse problem. Gordon was pulled over early Saturday morning in Wake County, North Carolina on suspicion of DWI. Gordon tested at a .09 which is just over the state's .08 limit for intoxication.

And Gordon could be facing a 1-year suspension on the heels of this arrest as what the league would term--a "Repeat Offender"....

On the heels of Gordon's arrest, comes word the former University of North Carolina basketball star and Carolina Hornets draftee P.J Hairston was charged with assault and battery Sunday afternoon when he reportedly punched a teenager during a pickup game in Durham.

Now comes this word---CBSSports.com reports the vehicle driven by Gordon Friday night...is owned by Hairston.

Really?

And it gets better.

Apparently the man who paid Gordon's $500 bail Saturday morning....

None other than a man named Haydn "Fats" Thomas.

And why do you ask is a man named "Fats" of interest? Well, Thomas's named surfaced as the owner of a car Hairston was arrested in back in 2013. Hairston had marijuana on him at the time and the arrest signaled the end of his UNC hoops career.

Oh...Thomas apparently is a convicted felon with a long, long track record of arrests.

Read the CBSSports.com story RIGHT HERE

Confused? Yeah, you should be. Let's try to explain:

The common thread here appears to be either Hairston and/or Thomas. That connection is indirectly tied to the multitude of problems facing the UNC Athletic programs.

What doesn't make sense is Gordon's connection to it. It's very obvious he has a substance abuse problem and his career as a football player is in jeopardy. It should be. He needs to figure out how to get his act together. Be it rehab or somewhere else....

As for Hairston and Thomas--we are thinking the connections will take care of themselves. It sure appears that there may be some issues with what Thomas gave Hairston while in school. And while we're sure the school is investigating, it sounds...to say the least...a bit fishy.

The Raleigh News and Observer's Laura Keeley pieces together Fats' life in a great piece hyah...

Roy Williams Answers McCants Allegations: Naturally, They Deny It...

((HT: ESPN/OTL))

Roy Williams has answered the allegations in the recent Rashad McCants interview saying he took "sham" classes while he was on campus in Chapel Hill. McCants even made the Dean's List when most of his classes were in the Afro-American Studies Department- which has come to the center of an investigation since late 2011.

The University, naturally, is circling the wagons that includes an interview with Williams.


The interesting part of the Williams interview was that 11 former players attended and were there as a show of support. None would go on camera, but they backed up their coach.

The other interesting part of the interview was that Williams would not directly address the McCants claims.

WRAL-TV has more response from the UNC teams of the past and the campus:

McCants' 16 teammates signed a statement that said, "With conviction, each one of us is proud to say that we attended class and did our own academic work."

McCants’ allegations are the first direct claim involving the Tar Heels basketball program and the 2005 National Championship team. The other UNC athletes on that team, and those who issued the statement were: Sean May, Jesse Holley, Melvin Scott, Raymond Felton, Charlie Everett, Reyshawn Terry, Jackie Manuel, Quentin Thomas, Jawad Williams, Wes Miller, Marvin Williams, Damion Grant, David Noel, C.J. Hooker and Bryon Sanders.

Athletic director Bubba Cunningham released a statement to WRAL News Thursday saying it's disappointing anytime a student isn't satisfied with his experience.

"The university hired former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein in January to conduct an independent investigation into past academic and athletic irregularities. While these are the first allegations we have heard from Mr. McCants, I encourage him to speak with Mr. Wainstein. We are confident Mr. Wainstein's inquiry will provide us with a full understanding of these issues," Cunningham stated.

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.”

Weird Ending For Women's Game With UNC and Tenn-Martin

((HT: WTVD-TV))

First, a little context...

This shut down the UNC-CH campus Sunday afternoon...


At the same time, the Tarheels were playing the Skyhawks at Carmichael on campus...
UT-M had a 12-point lead at the half and an 18-point lead in the second half. But, as is normally the case, the home team came storming back in the late stages. Even after the game, fans were forced to stay inside Carmichael after police announced there was an armed and dangerous person near the campus.

But... here's where the fun starts...
Rebecca, Kara, and Kevin discuss...


The Tarheels get Michigan State next...

BUZZER BEATER: UNC Beats NC State Again

((HT: ACCDN))

Wasn't it just a little bit ago that we were all throwing dirt on North Carolina and head coach Roy Williams...???

Now, after last night, they've won ten in a row and are causing some serious trouble in the ACC...

Last night, Marcus Paige was responsible for the 16th win in the last 17 efforts against the Wolfpack


We'll leave the Roy Williams silent sit-in to Brother Wilkie...

Prelude To Duke-UNC: Manager Fight At Dean Dome

((HT: cshulme/Lost Lettermen))

Tuesday at the Dean Dome, the student managers for UNC and Duke played in advance of the actual ACC game tonight...

But not without a little controversy...

This is what happens when elbows swing east-west
Here's the scrum off the rebound...


Ah... rivalry...

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...

5 AM Practice This Morning For North Carolina, Texas Upsets #14 UNC 86-83

That's how pissed off North Carolina head coach Roy Williams was when the Tar Heels lost at home to Texas Wednesday night 86-83.

It wasn't a classic rant like Barry Hinson but it was Roy Williams going off.

(Note the Barry Hinson reference)

Thanks WRAL-TV Raleigh, NC


Here's the highlights with FOSG Jones Angel on the call.

Thanks GoHeelsTV


The Tar Heels only shot 39 percent from the field and a much worse 51 percent from the free throw line which has been North Carolina's problem.

"I know we miss a lot of them, and it hurts when you're trying to make runs." North Carolina guard Marcus Paige said.  "We shouldn't have been in a position where free throws determined this game in the first place. Our first half was probably the worst first half of basketball we could have possibly played. I mean, it doesn't help when...if you miss two free throws it's basically like turning the ball over or giving the ball right back to them. It's frustrating to not take advantage of those opportunities."

I'm sure the 5:00 am practice was hell on the floor.  If you are a Tar Heel can you can only hope this is a wake up call to the team.

Pesky Belmont Continues Being Pesky

((HT: ACC Sports))

Belmont is always one of those teams that, in the post-season tournament, you can pick in one of those 5-12 games and be fairly confident in picking the Bruins as a 12...

Sunday in Chapel Hill was one of those reasons you can be confident in picking them in March...

Belmont goes into UNC and knocks off the Tarheels, 83-80...

The key highlight at the end of the reel is the JJ Mann three that gave the visitors the win...

UNC Suspends P.J Hairston Indefinitely

((ht: usatoday.com))

Well, the latest in North Carolina basketball standout P.J Hairston's problems appears to have been the straw that broke the camel's--or Roy Williams's back.

Hairston was arrested Sunday afternoon and charged with reckless driving. It's the latest ina series of problems spanning the past several months.

In no particular order, he was arrested at a license checkpoint on June 5th and charged with possessing marijuana and driving with no license, those charges were recently dropped.

He's also been linked to two different cars (including the one in the June 5th incident) owned by an area resident who's title is something along the lines of "party promoter" and who's been linked to quite a few Raleigh/Durham area college athletes. Oh, and did we add he has a prison record?

Read more about Mr. Hairston's adventures RIGHT HERE

At this point, we'd say Hairston is done in Chapel Hill. He's bringing the type of problems to the basketball team that often lead towards NCAA investigations.

Nobody, to this point has made accusations of such abuses by the school, players or boosters, but eyebrows are being raised. Having one of your players tied to guns, marijuana and/or rogue boosters or wanna be agents is not something North Carolina, a school who's football team already has them in trouble with the NCAA, wants any part of.