13 Tar Heels suspended for selling Nike Jordans

Thirteen North Carolina football players, including quarterback Chazz Surratt, have been suspended for at least one game this season after they were caught selling school-issued, special-edition Nike Jordan shoes, a secondary NCAA violation.


UNC self-reported the violation in January. Among those suspended four games: Surratt, starting defensive end Malik Carney, offensive lineman Brian Anderson, wide receiver Beau Corrales, defensive end Tomon Fox, defensive end Tyrone Hopper, offensive lineman Quiron Johnson, linebacker Malik Robinson and offensive lineman Jordan Tucker.


Defensive backs Greg Ross and Tre Shaw will miss two games, and quarterback Jack Davidson and offensive lineman Jonah Melton will miss one.


Since multiple players share the same position, the NCAA approved a request to stagger certain suspensions. Carney will sit games against East Carolina, UCF, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech, while Fox will miss the Miami, Syracuse, Virginia and Georgia Tech games.


Surratt's suspension changes the dynamic of the quarterback competition headed into the season. Coach Larry Fedora wouldn't say whether Surratt or Nathan Elliott had an edge in the competition going into preseason camp. But with Surratt forced to miss the first four games, it should be Elliott's job when the season opens at California on Sept. 1.


Surratt started in seven of UNC's first nine games last season, while Elliott started the final three.


"I am certainly upset by our players' actions and how their choices reflect on them, our program and the University," Fedora said in a statement. "These young men knew the rules and are being held responsible for the poor choices they have made. Accountability is an important core principle in this program. We will learn from this and aim to do better in the future."

Being a Tar Heel football fan is like being repeatedly kicked in the nuts 365 days a year. I don't know why I put myself through it.

Your basketball team is very, very good.

So is your baseball team, except when they have to face Oregon State.

By the way, last December I predicted you would have a new coach in 2019. The name I gave you is Neal Brown from Troy. He would be a nice upgrade.

tar_heel_in_sc said:

Being a Tar Heel football fan is like being repeatedly kicked in the nuts 365 days a year. I don't know why I put myself through it.

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you should be in my shoes

this is why the whole payment of athletes argument holds no water. These guys are not only getting free education, books, room, board, and food but now thousands of dollars per year (some schools even into the tens of thousands) in "cost of attendance" payments. Still, kids will sell their gear for money even when they knowingly commit a violation.

and, in this case, the money was probably pretty decent as it including rare gear from Jordan's new Nike brand, Jumpman. The players were supposedly notified that this gear, specifically, was one-of-a-kind and absolutely, positively cannot be sold

seems over the top though. in all honestly if they are the athletes shoes they should be able to do with them what they want. sure its a violation but i gotta disagree with the ruling. if i own something i should be free to sell it.

skins85 said:

seems over the top though. in all honestly if they are the athletes shoes they should be able to do with them what they want. sure its a violation but i gotta disagree with the ruling. if i own something i should be free to sell it.

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it is fine to disagree with it but UNC and MJ tried to do something nice for the kids and they fucked 'em ... pretty simple and now they've let down their teammates and program (and themselves) to collect a couple bucks on an ugly-ass pair of white sneaks


[FONT=&quot]"I have been told that I can't sell my gear multiple times," quarterback Nathan Elliott said.[/FONT]

outhouse tim said:

Your basketball team is very, very good.

So is your baseball team, except when they have to face Oregon State.

By the way, last December I predicted you would have a new coach in 2019. The name I gave you is Neal Brown from Troy. He would be a nice upgrade.

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Neal Brown (Troy) is a good young (30s) coach and would do a nice choice for North Carolina.

Fedora won just 3 games last year and probably won't win 5 this year. His seat is getting hot!

cloverleaf said:

Neal Brown (Troy) is a good young (30s) coach and would do a nice choice for North Carolina.

Fedora won just 3 games last year and probably won't win 5 this year. His seat is getting hot!

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I like Fedora and I believe he is a great offensive mind, and would be a top5 OC in the country. That said, the D has been atrocious from day 1 (Chizik's 2 years as DC they were at least average). In fairness to Fedora, he's had to deal with the NCAA nonsense which definitely has hurt recruiting.

I don't believe he'd be fired after this season even if he goes 3-9 again. After the 11 win season in '15, he was given a big contract extension and the buyout is not feasible. Also, as I said earlier he really hasn't had a fair shake in many ways. I really want him to succeed, but I don't know if it's in the cards.

It's frustrating because with UNC's brand, we should be a top 20 football program. There have been times (early 80's, mid 90's) when it's been done. Butch Davis was on his way as well. I long for those days. I'm one of the 1% of the UNC fan base who's football first all the way. I'm a glutton for punishment I guess.

tar_heel, I agree Fedora is a good offensive man.

Question for you. Why did Gene Chizik leave as defensive coordinator before
last season? I've heard different stories and thought as a NC guy you might know.

cloverleaf said:

tar_heel, I agree Fedora is a good offensive man.

Question for you. Why did Gene Chizik leave as defensive coordinator before
last season? I've heard different stories and thought as a NC guy you might know.

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My understanding is that the plan from the start was for Chizik to come in and be the DC for two years, which was the way it went. The defense the year before ('14) was an unmitigated disaster, and Fedora cleaned house. He needed as "sure of a thing" as he could get which was Chizik. Chizik would groom Papuchis for two years to take over as DC and then head home to Auburn and be a commentator on the weekends.

He was never going to move from Auburn, where his family was pretty entrenched (teenage kids). While at UNC, he did a good job with the defense, relatively speaking. However, he did very little recruiting and was flying back to Auburn every chance he got. I'm pretty sure that was agreed upon and a condition Fedora agreed to.

I don't think there was anything controversial about it at all, and they are all on good terms from what I know.