I think we're missing the bigger part of the picture - I should have pointed out more than just the school's ties to the investigator, but I was lazy and figured someone would dig it out.
What UNC is telling the NCAA and what the NCAA is accepting is that there is no connection between the scandal and the athletic program - that this is an internal matter for North Carolina given that it simply affects students at North Carolina, some of whom coincidentally happen to be athletes. ("But we gave fake grades to everyone....what's the problem?")
The author points out that he tried that very same gambit on the NCAA and got face palmed for it.
Our “open to other students and other students were enrolled” defense fell on deaf ears as the NCAA enforcement staff, with an assist from NCAA membership services, stated clearly that there was a clear “nexus”(connection) between the academic fraud and the direct benefit to the athletes, even though non-athletes potentially received the same benefit. One particular NCAA investigator told me that the fraud would not have happened “but for” the presence of athletes and the perceived benefit to them. In other words, in the eyes of the NCAA (sometimes, I guess) our fraud was done for the benefit of athletes and the others were along for the ride as a layer of protection and convenient excuse. It simply did not matter in the eyes of the NCAA, as they were convinced fraud was intended solely for the athlete’s benefit.
This sounds very close to what happened at North Carolina. It is clear that there is a direct nexus between what Nyang’oro did and the competitive advantage it provided for the North Carolina football, and likely, men’s basketball teams. I also submit that Nyang’oro would not have partaken in this activity “but for” the presence of athletes in the class and the fraudulent benefit he could provide for them.
