UNC Suspends 13 Football Players With Season Right Around the Corner
Thirteen football players for the University of North Carolina face early season suspensions for selling team-issued shoes.
UNC said Monday nine players received four-game suspensions for the secondary NCAA violations.
Two players will sit two games and two others will be sidelined for one contest. The NCAA approved a school request to delay two suspensions affecting multiple players at one position, while the other 11 suspensions start with the Sept. 1 opener at California.
UNC is staggering some of these suspensions so that they aren't missing nine players Sept. 22 when they face Pitt. Will still be short-handed, though. https://t.co/TzMqjIhkaG
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) August 6, 2018
The list of players include sophomore quarterback Chazz Surratt, who is suspended the first four games.
Surratt started seven games last season and entered preseason competing with Nathan Elliott for the starting job.
UNC reported the violations after learning of shoes being sold to at least one retailer in an email from a member of the public in January, according to documents released after a public-records request from The Associated Press.
The school announced Monday that returning starter Malik Carney, Tomon Fox and Tyrone Hopper were each suspended four games, though Carney and Fox will begin their suspensions after the opener. Hopper will begin serving his suspension for the opener at California.
Carney will miss games starting Week 2 against East Carolina, UCF and Pittsburgh. He’ll return to play at Miami, then sit again at home against Virginia Tech on Oct. 13.
UNC’s Malik Carney on his suspension pic.twitter.com/UuAgglm4z7
— Barnt (@barntwn) August 6, 2018
Fox won’t sit out until the Sept. 27 game against Miami. He’ll return against Virginia Tech, then sit again against Syracuse, Virginia and Georgia Tech on Nov. 3.
North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham says he’s satisfied that the school has resolved all issues tied to football players committing NCAA violations by selling their team-issued shoes.
Cunningham and coach Larry Fedora addressed reporters Monday afternoon following the school’s announcement that 13 players faced suspensions for the secondary violations.
Cunningham says school officials reacted quickly when they learned of the violations and had their investigation completed in roughly four days. He says he believes the case will be “closed” and resolved once the suspensions are served.
Fedora says the suspended players are “very remorseful.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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