University of Virginia Library

Gridiron Fatalities Mar College, Pro Slates

Sophomore's Death Probed

By TOM BELL

A storm of controversy has
arisen at the University of North
Carolina in the wake of a report by
the Faculty Council Committee on
Athletics that no negligence or
irregularity was involved in the
death of football player Bill
Arnold.

Bill Richardson, a fifth-year
student at North Carolina and a
former Tar Heel standout, and ten
other former athletes have formed a
Committee of Concerned Athletes
and have charged that there are
certain discrepancies in the report.

Arnold, a reserve guard on the
Tar Heel squad, collapsed after
running wind-sprints on Sept. 6 and
died 15 days later of heat stroke
and resultant complications.

After Arnold's death, many
people in Chapel Hill called for an
impartial investigation of the death
which led to the Faculty
committee's investigation. 39
witnesses were called.

The committee drew no
conclusions, but, according to the
Daily Tar Heel, the UNC student
newspaper, "there was no evidence
in the report damaging to Bill
Dooley or any member of his
staff."

On Oct. 10, two days after the
faculty report was issued, the
Committee of Concerned Athletes
called a press conference to air its
opinions.

"We are here today to voice our
concern over a continued and
persistent policy of medical
negligence and physical and
psychological abuse and harassment
which we have witnessed personally
in the last four years, under the
coaching of Bill Dooley," said Mr.
Richardson at the conference.

The athletes questioned the
faculty report "in light of our
personal knowledge of the football
system and the practices and
attitudes of the coaches.

On Oct. 11, UNC officials
reaffirmed their support for the
faculty report, and the Tar Heel
football team released a statement
in support of the football program.
They closed the statement by
saying that "there are problems in
any college football program and
we are confident that our problems
are in the process of being solved
from within our present program."

"I'll accept what they (the
faculty committee) said,"
commented Mr. Dooley. "As far as
I'm concerned, the issue is closed."

Later that week, in another
press conference, Mr. Dooley
accused Mr. Richardson of using
Arnold's death "to further your
own aims."

At the end of last week, the
team still stood behind Mr. Dooley,
and a number of the members had
gotten short haircuts to show their
support.