Judge dismisses former UNC athletes' lawsuit against the university's 'bogus classes'
A Mecklenburg County judge dismissed on Friday two former University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill athletes' claims that school officials coerced them into taking bogus classes.
The News and Observer reported former UNC basketball player Leah Metcalf and former UNC football player James "Cooter" Arnold had said they had "high academic aspirations" when they agreed to accept athletic scholarships.
Arnold, from Mocksville, and Metcalf, from Charlotte, said their academic counselors and their coaches steered them toward "sham" courses offered in the Department of African and African American Studies (AFAM).
Read more about the UNC Academic Scandal here.
According to the academic fraud investigation called the Wainstein Report, students did not attend classes and turned in a paper for a grade at the end of the semester.
The report found the classes did exist for 18 years on campus and student athletes were steered into the classes by their academic advisors to keep them eligible to play.
University attorneys in the lawsuit claimed the case lacks merit. UNC attorney Lisa Guilford told Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin that the university could not be sued under state law. Moreover, if UNC could be sued, the deadline for filing a complaint closed years ago.
Ervin agreed, and the lawsuit was tossed out.
Rick White, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Public Affairs said in a statement:
"The University is pleased with Judge Ervin's decision. UNC-Chapel Hill has fully accepted all responsibility for the past and remains committed to meaningful, long-term reforms that strike the right balance between academics and athletics. We are grateful for the court's decision."
