Hakeem Nicks given money at UNC

[Virginia Giant]

UNC: Hakeem Nicks provided $3,300Email

 

Print Comments75 ESPN.com news services

 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina said five people -- including former UNC player and current New York Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks -- provided "impermissible gifts of cash and jewelry and impermissible assistance" with travel and entertainment expenses. Nicks, who left Chapel Hill for the NFL after his junior season in 2008, provided $3,300 in benefits, while former UNC players Omar Brown ($1,865) and Mahlon Carey ($140) also were listed.

 

The news release also mentions San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis ($20) and "a person from Miami whose full name is not known ($323)."

 

 

ACC blog

ESPN.com's Heather Dinich writes about all things ACC in her conference blog.

 

• Blog network:

College Football Nation

 

 

The school identified all five people in reinstatement requests sent to the NCAA as part of the process to clear players in the probe.

 

Brown previously was linked to the investigation when the NCAA suspended cornerback Kendric Burney for six games and safety Deunta Williams for four games. The two players had traveled to California to visit the former UNC safety, who Williams said they had befriended a few years earlier.

 

The school said the amount -- totaling $5,648 between the five people -- also includes the estimated value of lodging at their homes during visits. Some of those benefits were repaid by the players or hosts before they knew they had broken NCAA rules.

 

The school also said that while Nicks, Carey and Brown thought they were helping friends and former Tar Heels, "there is no evidence that links them to inappropriate relationships with agents, prospective agents or runners."

 

Meanwhile, the university has formally broken ties with the tutor linked to the ongoing NCAA investigation of its football program.

 

In a letter dated Nov. 5 and released Thursday, athletic director Dick Baddour informed Jennifer Wiley of Chapel Hill that the university had learned she provided "impermissible extra benefits" to players, including about $2,000 in travel expenses this year. It also states she "provided impermissible academic assistance" to some student-athletes in 2009 and 2010.

 

 

"As a result of your actions, the eligibility status of several of our student-athletes has been adversely affected," it states.

 

The letter insisted she have no contact with any student-athlete for five years. It bars her from the Kenan Football Center and other campus athletic facilities in any role outside that of as a member of the general public during that time.

 

Wiley didn't respond to an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment Thursday, but Raleigh attorney Joe Cheshire issued a statement on her behalf saying she "acknowledges her role" in the investigation. Cheshire said Wiley allowed a player to use a credit card for a transaction, then was "immediately repaid" for that amount and "never knew this type of transaction was impermissible."

 

"She gave several years of her life trying to uplift, educate and enhance the lives of student-athletes that she worked with and befriended," Cheshire said. "All of these young men were of the highest caliber. She did not intend for her work to 'provide impermissible academic assistance' and to the extent it did, she is deeply saddened, particularly as it has affected the young men she cared so much about."

 

The NCAA began looking into agent-related benefits in the program over the summer before expanding the investigation to include possible academic violations involving Wiley, who also had worked as a tutor for coach Butch Davis' teenage son.

 

Thirteen players sat out the opener against LSU due to the investigation, with six players sitting out the entire season. Three of those were either dismissed from the team or declared "permanently ineligible" by the NCAA.

 

Five players have returned to game action, while a sixth -- tailback Ryan Houston -- was cleared to return after missing the first five games and had planned to redshirt. But Davis said this week Houston might return for the final three regular-season games after the Tar Heels lost leading rusher Johnny White to a broken collarbone and Shaun Draughn sprained an ankle.

 

Defensive lineman Michael McAdoo is the only player from the LSU group whose status is still in question. He hasn't played this season. Fullback Devon Ramsay played four games before the school decided to hold him out. He hasn't played since.

 

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5793098

[BlueInCanada]

Ummm.

 

So?

[Lubeck]

Honestly I have no respect for the NCAA. They treat their players as whores and play the pimp aspect perfectly. The NCAA football season brings in billions every yar and the players are allowed to make nothing. I have no respect for college football specifically because there is so much money involved and the ones providing the entertainment are treated like shit.

 

That said I didn't read the article because the dollar value was so low I don;t give a shit. What did Nicks do?

[Treehugger]

OMG! Vernon Davis got $20! My faith in everything is shattered!

 

[ksm7]

OMG! Vernon Davis got $20! My faith in everything is shattered!

 

 

the dog is reading this as these five players provided money...etc...to current recruits/players, not received. also sound like they didn't give the money directly but it changed hands without their knowledge...either way, seems like a weak issue at best. why would they even bother to mention vernon davis for $20? that just seems embarrassing...

[Virginia Giant]

the dog is reading this as these five players provided money...etc...to current recruits/players, not received. also sound like they didn't give the money directly but it changed hands without their knowledge...either way, seems like a weak issue at best. why would they even bother to mention vernon davis for $20? that just seems embarrassing...

Ah, I read that wrong

[Treehugger]

the dog is reading this as these five players provided money...etc...to current recruits/players, not received. also sound like they didn't give the money directly but it changed hands without their knowledge...either way, seems like a weak issue at best. why would they even bother to mention vernon davis for $20? that just seems embarrassing...

You're right. So Nicks probably flew the guys out to his house for a weekend while Davis took them to Burger King.

[GorillaNJ]

You're right. So Nicks probably flew the guys out to his house for a weekend while Davis took them to Burger King.

You could not feed all those guys Bk with $20. He probably picked up a 30 pack of beer

[Mr. P]

yeah should say hakeem nicks givin money at unc.

[ksm7]

Ah, I read that wrong

 

yeah - the only reason the dog mentioned it is because it is almost less of an issue in the dog's mind that they gave money unknowingly then had they received money while there. that being said, vernon davis must have been a real treat for potential recruits coming in and staying with him for a weekend...$20 vernon...really?

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

Honestly I have no respect for the NCAA. They treat their players as whores and play the pimp aspect perfectly. The NCAA football season brings in billions every yar and the players are allowed to make nothing. I have no respect for college football specifically because there is so much money involved and the ones providing the entertainment are treated like shit.

 

That said I didn't read the article because the dollar value was so low I don;t give a shit. What did Nicks do?

 

 

The same thing with college basketball....they both need to follow baseballs lead and have honest to GOD farm teams where guys with fifth grade educations but who can hit/field can earn a living and put food on the table.