Parting Shots from the Heartland
Posted July 23, 2005, 5:46 PM ET

As I was preparing to leave on a West Coast vacation, there was a breaking story regarding some payments to student-athletes in an internal investigation conducted by the Kansas athletic department.

Why is this newsworthy in the Carolinas?...Because it supposedly happened while the Jayhawk program was led by Coach Roy Williams. Roy can now be found hanging a championship banner in Chapel Hill, something Rock Chalk Jayhawk Nation wished he was able to accomplish in his fifteen years at Lawrence.

The more I heard and read about the accusations and the report, the more I realized how bitter and upset the folks at KU must be about Roy and their own lack of success under Bill Self.

Come on now, a few boosters want to pay or give gifts to kids that have already graduated...and that is against NCAA rules?

I know people want to take shots at Roy or any other coach that happens to be in charge of the Tar Heels basketball program...that is the nature of the beast. And that is also true if you coach at Duke, Kentucky, Arizona or any other big-time, blue-blooded basketball empire.

My biggest problem with the whole episode is the total lack of common sense over the NCAA rule. Why should it be illegal for a booster to write a check, pay cash or give any gift they want to any kid that graduates from a respective university?

Roy was upset about the harshness of the media reports and his potential involvement in any type of scandal...Roy, get over it. You're the head coach of the defending national champs. You're on top and people are going to come after you...whether it is legit or not.

I find it funny that Kansas would even bother with such an investigation, much less announce it to the media for all to hear. Let's be honest here...if Roy Williams was still coaching in Lawrence, there would be no investigation...and if the findings were known...there would have been no announcement.

It is as simple as that.

I can understand Roy Williams and the UNC administrators wanting to make sure that there were no illegal payments or even acknowledging that there was no wrongdoing in this matter from Roy's perspective. But perhaps we should all take a step back and use common sense over some of these ridiculous NCAA rules.

It would be different if the kids were graduating from high school and a booster group wanted to throw some perks their way...that's called "cheating". But this issue is completely different.

I'm glad it turned into a non-issue...but Roy needs to be ready for shots thrown his way from every angle. That's what happens when you have a target on your chest. And if he doesn't understand that...all he needs to do is ask the guy coaching 8 miles down the road in Durham.