The Weather Must Be Nicer In Chapel Hill Than Indianapolis, Right?

YouTube Song of the Post

The reason should be self explanatory.  First, the name of the song is "Protect Your Neck."  Pay attention to the almost non-existent hook (which is why the Original 36 Chambers was so freaking awesome, not fit for the radio).  "You best protect you neck."  Secondly, it is Wu Tang.  Fucking Original 36 Chambers Wu Tang.  Finally, it is old school, kind of like it is getting really fucking old having the NCAA fuck with our football team.  Old school to getting really fucking old?  I know that doesn't make any fucking sense, but I don't give a shit.  I'm pissed and I don't always make sense when I'm pissed. I mean, I am seriously feed up with the bullshit!

The Weather Must Be Nicer In Chapel Hill 

Than Indianapolis, Right?

It was a beautiful day in Chapel Hill today.  I mean gorgeous!  It was in the low 70s and mostly sunny.  The weather in Indianapolis . . . .  Nope.  Pretty much the same.  Then why the fuck is an investigator back in Chapel Hill.  I would have thought they were escaping bad weather to enjoy our notoriously amazing Spring weather out on the deck of Pantana Bob's or He's Not.

Oh.  That's right.  It is because of a these:

 

I know what you are asking yourself.  What is that?  Well, those are pictures of Quinton Coples in Washington D.C. at a post-draft party that was attended by Robert Quinn and Marvin Austin.  You know what else you should be asking yourself?  No.  Not why the fuck did Quinton Coples go to an NFL draft party!  That would be a stupid fucking question, regardless of what my Mom says about questions.  Is he not allowed to celebrate the success of his friends?  Just because you play football doesn't mean you have to become a social recluse.  Get over your fucking self!  No.  The other question you should be asking yourself is, why should the NCAA care about those pictures?  

Well, check out the italicized ESPN print.

Photographs of Coples with Austin and Quinn that appeared on Facebook and the web site EliteDCMag.com prompted the inquiry. The party is labeled as taking place at "Ultrabar" nightclub. Also seen in photos with players is at least one alleged runner the NCAA has investigated.

Before the NFL draft, the NCAA warned some prospective draft choices not to allow any former teammates to accept extra benefits or preferential treatment from anyone such as an agent or a runner. The letter read in part: "Please do not jeopardize the NCAA eligibility of your friends or former teammates."

The NCAA wants to know how Coples paid for his travel to the party, who paid for his admission and his hotel, and if he accepted any free food or drink.

Fucking GREAT!  After reading that, the next question I had was, who is that guy with Coples in the first picture?

This is what I know:

(1)  I hate the NCAA.

(2) There are new policies in place that stipulate that athletes check in with the compliance department when they are leaving town.  It is not like they need a hall pass or anything.  It is only intended to keep the university appraised of any potential issues involved in the travel so that guidance can be provided to the athlete if necessary.

In this case, the NCAA sent the "please don't jeopardize the eligibility of your friends" memo.  I can only hope that Coples checked in with compliance and they had a review session to protect him from the NCAA pissing in his senior season Cheerios.  If this is the case, it will demonstrate the effectiveness of the new policies and should have a positive impact on any potential actions the NCAA wants to take for the transgressions from last year.  I am all for minimizing the already minimal.  What better way to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new procedures than through this little exercise.  Regardless, we have the type of athletes involved in the football program where effective education is going to be critical.  This is the first test.  I hope we pass!

Sidebar: The "please don't jeopardize the eligibility of your friends" memo does beg the question.  Why not send said memo directly to the student-athletes?  Fucking ridiculous!  Back to things I know.

(3) Coples may or may not have been the only Tar Heel there.  And if you know anything, you already know because I already showed you.  Cryptic, right? You are going to have to figure it out for yourself.  I'm not going to explain unless I have to.

OK.  Lets get serious.

Coples was interviewed because an agent or runner was at the draft party.  As a rising senior, Coples is permitted to have contact with agents.  UNC's compliance department has educated the players regarding permissible contact with agents and what is and is not acceptable at these types of functions  within the purview of the NCAA guidelines. It is believed that Coples did nothing to infringe on the NCAA guidelines and committed no infractions that would jeopardize his eligibility. 

So take some deep breaths.  Everything should be fine.

Some parting advice.  If you live locally, I suggest you avoid sports radio.  You know the saying, "haters gonna hate" and the ABCers (Anybody But Carolina) will be out in full Sarah Palin-crazy!  If you are prone to stupidity-rage, I suggest you avoid any potential triggers, e.g. sports talk radio in the triangle (99.9 The Fan), North Carolina newspapers, Joe Schad, ect.  Oh yeah.  For clarification, stupidity-rage is similar to road-rage, only the trigger is stupidity instead of bad driving.  I promise I am not an angry person.