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From Sandites to Sanctions
Published: 6/26/2011 11:22 AM
Last Modified: 6/26/2011 11:22 AM

The friendship of North Carolina coach Butch Davis and former Oklahoma coach John Blake goes back to junior high school in Sand Springs.
Davis was a young teacher and coach. Blake was a star athlete and popular student.
The friendship endured for more than 30 years until Blake allegedly broke a number of NCAA rules that has put Davis’ job in jeopardy.
Blake’s long-term reputation as an assistant coach that lived on the edge of NCAA rules finally came out in public when the NCAA sent North Carolina a formal letter last week listing nine allegations of rules violations.
Now, there is a growing chorus of voices that want Davis, a Bixby native, out as Tar Heels head coach.
At a school with a virtually spotless reputation in running a clean athletic program, the reaction to the NCAA investigation has been harsh.
In fairness, no where in the allegations is Davis accused of breaking any rules or lying to investigators or his bosses.
Still, some believe Davis’ poor judgement in hiring Blake as an assistant is proof that he needs to go.
We disagree.
Davis hired Blake out of loyalty. When he was convinced Blake had broken the rules, Davis fired Blake despite a friendship dating back to the 1970s.
Davis’ reputation for running clean programs, earned through a difficult turnaround at Miami, should be enough to keep him in Chapel Hill for at least the immediate future.




Reader Comments 1 Total
DomoArrigato (last year)
Guilt by association unfortunately....Butch Davis is a stand up guy, while John Blake isn't much of a guy at all.
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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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