Football players from the University of North Carolina went a tad overboard with their celebration following a road win over in-state rival Duke last November. Tar Heel players were accused of spray painting the visitor’s locker room at Duke, something that carried over from the tradition of spray painting the victory bell. UNC had previously apologized to Duke for the excessive celebration and offered to pay for the cost of the repairs from damages. That bill was sent and has now bene paid.
UNC head coach Larry Fedora and UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham split the bill, which amounted to $27,170.44. Most of that cost went to buying new carpet for the locker room. But if you thought UNC paying the bill for damages was the end of the story, think again.
Cunningham wrote a letter of apology to Duke AD Kevin White and pointed out Duke head coach David Cutcliffe never returning a phone call of apology from Fedora. Cunningham also included a photo of spray paint damage found on UNC’s campus from last February with letters spelling “Duke” spread out across four pillars following a basketball game. Cunningham informed White UNC covered the cost of sandblasting the pillars without making a public spectacle of the incident.“I acknowledge we have no idea who did this, but I simply included it to demonstrate that all fans, teams, coaches, students, etc. need to appreciate and respect the rivalry.”
“I acknowledge we have no idea who did this, but I simply included it to demonstrate that all fans, teams, coaches, students, etc. need to appreciate and respect the rivalry,” Cunningham wrote, per News & Observer.
This seems like a silly point to make after your players trashed an opposing team’s locker room. You may not have control over the actions of the fans roaming about, but you have to accept responsibility for the actions of your players when they are in your uniform representing your university.