According to Yahoo! Sports, UNC is investigating a possible hazing incident that resulted in a concussion for a walk-on wide receiver.
The University of North Carolina confirmed to Yahoo Sports on Tuesday that it is investigating a training camp incident between football players that escalated from what multiple sources described as an alleged hazing into a group assault of a teammate.
"We are aware of an incident involving members of the UNC football team that took place earlier this month. We take this allegation seriously and the University is conducting a thorough review," Kevin Best, North Carolina's assistant athletic director for communications, said in a statement to Yahoo Sports.
Members of the team and coaching staff were not made available for comment Tuesday because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, Best said.
During the first week of August, redshirt freshman walk-on wide receiver Jackson Boyer was involved in an alleged physical altercation with multiple teammates in his room at the A-Loft hotel in Chapel Hill where the team was staying during fall camp, sources told Yahoo Sports. The incident allegedly left Boyer with a concussion, sources said.
When reached for comment last week by Yahoo Sports, Rob Boyer acknowledged that an incident occurred with his son but said, "I'm really not ready to comment on it."
And to think, we were this close to making through the summer without another off-the-field issue involving the football team.
Clearly nothing is known right now about which players were involved or what exactly happened. What is known is hazing and concussions are two hot button issues that will bring more scrutiny than had this been your run-of-the-mill brush with the law. And if the alleged incident happened during training camp at the team hotel it will raise some questions about how well the coaches were supervising the players.
From a practical standpoint, it wouldn't be surprising to see the investigation wrapped up in short order, especially if it results in any sort of discipline. UNC has two manageable games to start the season so if any players need to be suspended, doing it now would be ideal.
That being said, UNC owes it to the alleged victim to handle this investigation properly even if it takes time. Given all the issues UNC has faced of late, the school cannot afford any kind of miscue in probing this incident and ensuring there is accountability for any broken rules. Unfortunately, the ongoing scandal of the past four years provides zero benefit of the doubt regarding how the school handles even internal problems.
For now it is wait and see mode to find out what exactly happened and what repercussions come of it.
