Thread by @WalterByerz

1/My engagement with UNC’s NCAA investigation did not begin in earnest until late 2016, but, in doing due diligence to understand the scope of the project, I read numerous @newsobserver articles written by Dan Kane, Andrew Parker and staff going back to 2011.

2/While their understanding of NCAA rules was rudimentary, I appreciate gumshoe journalists grinding for stories and believe deeply in the role journalists play in holding truth to power. As I analyzed the back story in preparation, I was initially impressed with the N&O team.

3/However, in building my case history, I could clearly see the arc of a story where the search for the truth turned into something less noble. An AFAM professor offering cupcake courses to the entire campus was marketed by Kane as the “biggest scandal in NCAA history.”

4/Antithetically, Mr Kane’s “NCAA scandal” did not produce a single NCAA rules violation for any UNC team, coach or player. Quite simply, Kane falsely wrote the story he wanted to write instead of the story that the evidence told.

Ambition is a lust that is never quenched.

5/What is clear, looking back at the 6 year history of the UNC/AFAM case, is how lucky @dankanenando got. It wasn’t Kane’s dogged investigative skills that carried the story. It was pure luck. Go through the defining moments of the story...not one germinated from Mr Kane’s work.

6/The entire AFAM story started in 2011 with a UNC football player’s plagiarized Swahili paper. Who found it? An NC State message board poster stumbled across the paper in a court filing. Kane read about the paper on a sports blog. WufWuf1 gifted Mr Kane the seed of the story.

7/The next major brick in the “scandal” story was Marvin Austin’s transcript showing an upper level AFAM course his freshman year.  Kane didn’t do anything to find it; it was illegally given to him by an unethical UNC employee.

8/The next brick was Julius Peppers’ transcript that UNC carelessly posted to an online portal in 2012. Did Kane find it? No. A NC State message board poster discovered the transcript. In fairness to Mr Kane, he did place a call to UNC for comment.

9/The story continued when Mary Willingham, a disgruntled UNC employee, began giving private student data to Mr Kane. Chancellor Thorp’s ensuing, bumbled response led to multiple investigations resulting in years of gifted stories for Mr Kane.

10/In no way do I want to diminish Mr Kane’s tireless dedication to chasing the UNC/AFAM story, but his “investigative” skills deserve as much credit as the “sales” skills of the Taco Bell employee standing at the register when you order a chimichanga.

11/Time after time, @dankanenando showed remarkable adroitness at writing “investigative” stories about other people’s findings. He became a media darling despite not discovering a single critical piece of information in the AFAM story. 
#BetterToBeLuckyThanGood

12/ @dankanenando had a Pulitzer-worthy story about a rogue AFAM professor going unchecked for decades at a Public Ivy. He tried to parlay it into the “biggest scandal in NCAA history.” Bad decision. The NCAA said it wasn’t a scandal. In fact, the NCAA said it was all legal.

13/To win a Pulitzer for investigative journalism, it requires, traditionally, investigative journalism. Unfortunately for @dankanenando, they don’t award Pulitzers for stenography or misguided narratives. #DulyNoted