Lawsuit Over Fake Classes for Athletes at University of North Carolina
A scheme of fake classes was recently uncovered at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC (UNC-Chapel Hill). The classes, which were never actually held, were specifically for athletes to enroll in, in order to keep their grades up and maintain eligibility to play on their school’s team.
Two former student-athletes at UNC-Chapel Hill have filed a class-action lawsuit against both the university and the National Collegiate Athletic Association — NCAA.
The suit goes further than simply alleging UNC’s role in the fraud, but goes on to say that the fake classes amounted to an integral part of today’s athletics programs at big-name universities. In fact, the suit says, academics have become the step-child to athletics, and the education promised by the NCAA is nothing more than an illusion.
In addition to monetary damages for the athletes impacted by the fake classes, the plaintiffs want an independent commission to be formed that will “review, audit, assess, and report on academic integrity in NCAA-member athletic programs and certify (the colleges provide) comparable educations and educational opportunities to athletes and non-athletes alike.”
Herndon athletes’ lawyer Doug Landau is appalled that such a scheme could have gone on for 18 years at such a well-known and well-regarded institution of higher learning. “It certainly goes against the entire idea of a STUDENT – athlete,” notes Landau. University academic departments’ challenges to the athletics departments “playing by different rules,” now take on a heightened significance. As for the athletes, why did they not come forward sooner ? Lawyer Landau asks, “If they do not get paid and they do not get an education, then what DO they get ?” Read more here