CHAPEL HILL - Everett Withers now says he was merely trying to express his pride in the University of North Carolina, not insult N.C. State.
After practice today, interim football coach Withers was asked about comments he made that aired Wednesday on 99.9 The Fan. In the Wednesday comments, Withers had compared graduation rates for athletes and football players at the two schools and said there is a different "educational environment" at UNC.
He focused more on praising UNC this afternoon.
"My statement didn’t have anything to do with really North Carolina State’s academics," Withers said. "It’s about my pride in the University of North Carolina what our faculty and our administration have done here, and I have a lot of pride for what this school stands for academically. That’s part of the whole student-athlete experience."
UNC chancellor Holden Thorp has apologized to N.C. State chancellor Randy Woodson over the comments, according to UNC spokeswoman Nancy Davis. Withers was asked if he talked with athletic director Dick Baddour about the radio interview.
"We talked a little bit," Withers said, "but I want everybody to know that my intent was pride for the University of North Carolina."
Earlier Thursday, N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien reacted angrily to Withers' comments and referred to an NCAA investigation has UNC facing allegations of nine major violations.
O'Brien said Withers was part of a staff that had achieved a "triple play" in the eyes of the NCAA, with an agent on the staff, players getting paid impermissible benefits and academic fraud.
Withers said he was aware of O'Brien's comments.
"Boy," Withers said, "it must be a rivalry week."
North Carolina (6-3, 2-3 ACC) visits N.C. State (4-4, 1-3) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Ken Tysiac
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12 comments:
"My statement didn’t have anything to do with really North Carolina State’s academics"
Here's what he said
"If you look at our graduation rates, as opposed to our opponent’s this week, graduation rates for athletics, for football, you’ll see a difference"
So he specifically mentions NC State's graduation rates. But now he's backpeddling and saying his statements had nothing to do with NC State.
He makes a stupid mistake, then he lies about it. Sounds like Marvin Austin, Robert Quinn, and some of the other guys Withers has coached over the last few seasons.
way to play it off withers.....you should've kept your mouth shut given the state of your program and the fact that you are a de-facto coach with no hope of being there in a few months.
I like and still respect this O'brien guy. I guess this has been a good comparison in a Navy guy and a App State guy.
O'Brien didn't even have the good sense to keep his best QB. It wasn't like NC State could afford to say bye bye to Russell Wilson. Forget about the status of Withers at UNC, O'Brien doesn't appear to be the best fit for NC State in terms of his decision-making capacity. Withers was merely trying to stir up some excitement about a historical rivalry that in recent years has lost it's zeal.
Better look out Coach Withers, Holden might zip down to the athletic complex in his Mazda Miata and can your tush like he did Butch's.
Haha, Thug U stirring up controversy AGAIN.
Acorn doesn't fall far from the idiot tree in Chapel Hill. He specifically mentions "our opponent this week" and then says it's all a misunderstanding and he had other intentions.
Same ole - "Damn, I did this, got caught, now I gotta deny. Hey, OJ got off."
Liar, Liar, pants on fire. Thanks for the memories, Ev
I stated this earlier today , and I'll state it AGAIN - Everett Withers is an upstanding guy who is fighting to teach , coach , and win under dire circumstances. Last I heard , his name is not John Blake or Butch Davis. I can tell you from personal experience that monitoring , molding , and shaping 18 to 21 year old athletes on a college campus with all sorts of temptation is a huge challenge. ALSO - EVERY SCHOOL HAS SCANDAL AND ISSUES !!! We just don't hear about it all , and money is usually the root cause.
I have known Everett since junior high school , and he is a high character guy who comes from a great family. Obviously the university would not have put him in the interim position if he did not deserve it . Furthermore , I admire him for being big enough to put himself into the forefront (and take the pressure off of the kids who are left to feel the affects of the past two years).
OH -By the way , have we forgotten about the checkered past of NC State's basketball and football teams in the late 80's and early
90's ( i.e. -Chris Washburn ) ??? AND - Please look at UNC versus NC State overall rankings in national publications - they ALL rank UNC ahead of State in terms of academic prestige. (THOSE ARE THE FACTS -NO APOLOGIES NEEDED FOR STATING FACTS !!!!!! )
People said the exact same stuff about Blake, WC_Lion. Did you go to unc?
Also, here is one of several rankings I could post showing State outranking unc. Bottom line is they are both good schools, but your position further demostrates the typical unc fan's obsession with preventing anyone from being seen as better in any way than unc.
And what is the football violation from the past you reger to?
WC couldnt find Chapel Hill on a map....E Withers is an idiot that put his foot in his mouth and now lloks like a ccomplete fool.
He sounds so stupid he sounds like a middle school coach.
OWNERSHIP.
Oh my god, there is a great deal of worthwhile data above!
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