Back in 2014, Rashad McCants allegedly accused UNC of academic fraud. He was part of the North Carolina basketball team that won the 2004–05 national title. Once again, the retired NBA player accused his former head coach, Roy Williams, of intentionally taking away his chance to shine in the 2005 national championship game. Notably, McCants claimed it happened so his ex-teammate Sean May could win the ‘Most Outstanding Player’ honors on his birthday.
Rashad made these comments on an episode of The Gils Arena Podcast. And just like last time, the response from his former teammate was swift. Many came out to defend Williams, one of them being Raymond Felton. In the recent segment of Run Your Race, Felton shunned Rashad’s accusations, claiming, “This man even through all the BS that you took him took him through and sometimes took us through as a team we still roll with you he still roll with you and so for him to say some of the things I hear him say on the podcast that they’re doing and just things that he’s done in the past it just pisses me off.”
“But now once you start to mess with the legacy of coach Williams and the legacy of what we’ve done as a team now we got a problem with you,” he further added.
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Felton explained that he wasn’t impressed with McCants ruining the team’s championship, Williams’ reputation, and even his legacy. He further praised Sean and his contributions, with former UNC stars Justin Jackson and Thoe Pinson also dismissing his claims on the Tidal League podcast.
While many questioned whether the move was intentional or not, it didn’t harm McCants in any way. In the past, Felton was also one of the players who refuted McCants’ claims against UNC.
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Raymond Felton disagreed with Rashad McCants’ claims about academic fraud
In an interview with ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines,’ McCants claimed that he might not have been eligible for the championship had he not been provided help. Furthermore, he also claimed that his term papers were prepared and written by the tutors. Moreover, he added that Williams knew about the “Paper class system” used at UNC to make student-athletes eligible for NCAA. Apparently, the attendance was also manipulated, and his accusations caused quite a stir, soon followed by denial from the authorities.
The players also shared their opinions on it, with about sixteen former UNC players including Felton sharing a joint note on it. The last part of their statement read, “In light of the comments made by Rashad on ESPN Outside the Lines, we want to state that our personal academic experiences are not consistent with Rashad’s claims. We know that Coach Williams did not have any knowledge of any academic impropriety, and further that Coach Williams would not have tried to manipulate a player’s schedule.”
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Interestingly, a former UNC learning specialist seemed to be in support of McCants. However, nothing has been proven. Did you know about this story? What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments below.
