Bill Belichick’s second year with North Carolina has not even formally started, but his program is facing a new complaint.
Multiple North Carolina players have been cited for speeding since the start of the year, including one who has two reckless driving charges since arriving on campus in January. Another player has been cited three times since February.
The situation has reached the point that at least one professor has complained to university administration about players speeding on campus or parking in spots designated for people with disabilities.
“What started to bother all of us, in addition to the fact that they didn’t seem to have to follow the simple parking rules like parking head in, was that now almost always the handicapped spots closest to Kenan in the deck had these cars parked in them,” university professor Mark Peifer told Pat Welter, Randall Kerr, and Brian Murphy of WRAL. “That’s just not right. You shouldn’t park in a handicap spot. Nobody should park in a handicap spot.”
Peifer said he had been cursed at by at least one player he yelled at to stop. He made multiple complaints to athletic director Bubba Cunningham, but the behavior has continued.
“I thought he [Cunningham] actually was probably right up there with the chancellor and running the university, but I found out when I wrote to him that he doesn’t have any control over the football program anymore,” Peifer added. “He clearly was frustrated and ultimately angry about this behavior and didn’t seem to be able to change it.”
The athletics department said it would continue to ensure that players are “educated about driving safety.”
Belichick’s arrival at North Carolina has not exactly brought the results they hoped for after a 4-8 season. The fact that his players are generating negative headlines only makes things worse. Perhaps this is the sort of thing one ex-player meant when he said he was avoiding going anywhere near the program right now.
