UNC Head Basketball Coach Roy Williams rejects Rashad McCants damaging allegations
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Roy Williams rejects any notion that academic fraud is prevalent at UNC and that he's covering it up.
The UNC head basketball coach went on national TV Saturday to offer an adamant rebuttal to the damaging claims by Rashad McCants.
The explosive allegations go back to 2005, when the Tar Heel's men's basketball team took the NCAA title and junior McCants was a big man on campus.
"You're not there to get an education, you're there to make revenue for the college," McCants said.
McCants said he never went to certain classes and almost always had a tutor write his papers for him. He also said Williams and the other coaches knew it was happening.
"I think he knew 100-percent," McCants said.
"I have no idea. I don't sit in the classroom. I don't turn in their papers, but I find that impossible for me to believe," Williams said in an ESPN interview.
Firing back, Williams said if it happened, he knew nothing about it. However, McCant's transcripts, obtained by ESPN, suggest Williams had reason to wonder.
McCants says most of the cheating happened in the African-American studies program.
In one semester, he got four A's -- helping him stay eligible. Outside the AFAM program though, he got C's, D's and F's. Asked about that Monday, Williams said, "Some kids get in courses they don't like...If a guy made 0, 0, 0 then made four A's that might throw up a warning signal.
"The last semester is when he made the dean's list. For me, I didn't know what courses he was taking...I saw Rashad made the grades," he said.
The university sent out a statement Monday referencing the school's ongoing investigation into allegations of fraud. A UNC spokesperson said, "We think it is best to allow Ken Wainstein [the independent investigator] to continue his work without the University creating a concurrent review of every claim that arises. Once Mr. Wainstein has completed his work, and makes that public, we will be very interested in sharing our plans for moving forward."
On Tuesday, UNC Chancellor Carol L. Folt released a statement reassuring the Carolina Community they are doing their best to resolve remaining questions. Folt also said all reports of academic irregularities are taken very seriously and the investigation by former federal prosecutor Wainstein will take time.
UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham also responded to questions about Williams Tuesday and essentially backed him 100-percent. Cunningham said the coach and his staff have always placed a priority on self-accountability inside the classroom.
