At this point I am not sure there is an interview Dick Baddour won't do.
Maybe I should give him a call.
Baddour's latest interview was conducted by 620 the Buzz's The Insiders:
"Sure, I have a sense of responsibility. I don't have a sense of negligence. I don't have a sense of us not having the measures in place. Certainly those haven't worked in some situations. I can't deny that," Baddour told Mark and Mike on The Insiders on 620 The Buzz.
"I have comfort in that we had the education and prevention programs in place. I also know that we must do better, and it's my responsibility to sort out how we are going to do that."
Some issue has been taken with Baddour denying UNC was negligent. Well, okay but I would submit this is a little like the person in charge of fire safety for an office building. He sends out information on what to do in case of a fire, has monthly fire drills and stresses, among other things, that you should not use the elevators during a fire. When an actual fire breaks out four people panic, hop on an elevator and ultimately die. Was there negligence on the part of the individual charged with teaching fire safety. No. Four people were just stupid though an argument could be made for education and placing someone by the elevators to ensure no one uses them. That is where the question arises. UNC educated but did they monitor or was it possible for them to monitor everyone at any given time? Of course Baddour admits he is responsible and also says that despite their efforts, obviously it was not enough. Baddour also said they have not yet poked around other sports at UNC. I am going to let that one sit for now.
The other Power That Is, UNC chancellor Holden Thorp, addressed the faculty today which I am sure was every bit as fun as the last time Thorp dropped by his dentist's office. Prior to the meeting Thorp fielded another question concerning Butch Davis' job security.
Asked, prior to a meeting with UNC’s faculty, if he could definitively say that Davis would remain as the football coach, Thorp began his response by saying it wasn’t a fair question. Then he added: "Competitive, big-time football is a hazardous undertaking, but the plan right now is for him to be the coach next year. He's done everything we've asked him to do to get to the bottom of this, and we're pleased with him."
Yes, the "right now" addition to his comment renders a whole new meaning. Sans that the statement is full throated support, kind of like walking shoulder-to-shoulder with the head coach during the Tar Heel walk in full view of the public. Making the support based on the present means that Thorp is giving himself some wiggle room just in case he has to start chucking people off the good ship Tar Heel. Still, it is a supportive statement and Thorp does indicate Davis has done all they have asked him to do. However, like most of us, Thorp is not sure how this is going to end which is why he says the question was not fair. How can anyone answer with certainty such a question without knowing the final conclusions?
Then again, we could be reaching a tipping point of sorts in the perception game where we have to start asking how much snow can this roof(Davis job security) can take before it collapses. Now, I think UNC is going to see this investigation through to its conclusion. I also think if anyone feels it necessary for Davis to leave it will not be UNC terminating Davis or even forcing him out via resignation. Davis will simply take another job after the season and UNC will move on from there. However, before any of that will even be brought to bear, we will know the results of the investigation in full. The problem is it keeps snowing, there are no signs of it melting and this roof does not look all that sturdy. Until something stems the tide the questions about Davis will continue to mount.
At this point the weight of negative news swirling around this story is difficult to ignore. On one hand, I think it is the nature of rumors to be almost always negative. People are more willing to report or spread bad news. The question is whether most of the bad news in this case is mostly out there or is what we know now only the tip of the iceberg? If there is more information of equal or worse nature than what is already floating around, then the people who keep saying this is going to get worse will be proven right. The flip side to that is what is publicly known at this point is the worst of it and it is reasonable to assume this will ultimately land neatly between the best and worst case scenarios.
So what is the main point here? The same one as always. Wait for the final report and see how it all shakes out. That is the underlying point to Thorp's "right now" provision in his comments. The results will ultimately dictate what happens to Davis with this exception. If the final conclusions from the NCAA still leave Davis tainted from a PR perspective, that might be too much to overcome. If all the answers UNC gets back from the NCAA point more towards individual player issues and only the need for UNC to do a better job with how they handle agent education, chances are Davis and the football program can move on.
As always, we await for the final results before throwing anyone under the bus.