A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
On the field, the University of North Carolina has opened the new college football season with back-to-back wins. Off the field, on Thursday, the university confirmed that defensive coordinator Steve Belichick will resign after an investigation into allegations of misconduct. Now, it was only weeks ago that general manager Michael Lombardi also resigned. So what's going on in Chapel Hill? Brian Murphy is an investigative sports reporter with Raleigh-based TV station WRAL. So, Brian, Steve Belichick is the son of head coach Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as the Patriots' head coach. Steve Belichick is resigning. What do we know about why?
BRIAN MURPHY: Well, the university conducted an investigation into the entire football program. And yesterday, I talked to investigators. And they said they probed allegations of drug use, allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships in the football offices, the workplace culture, NCAA compliance. And WRAL previously reported that investigators were asking questions about whether or not Steve Belichick was using drugs at the football facility. Even though investigators refused to say specifically what they found, in the same statement that UNC announced the conclusion of that investigation, they announced that Steve Belichick would be resigning, effective at the end of October when he ends his medical leave.
MARTÍNEZ: So are we talking about things that could be crimes?
MURPHY: You know, among the allegations that they were probing were questions about whether Steve Belichick provided drugs to at least one player. Although, people that we've spoken to say it's highly unlikely that there would be any criminal charges brought, that really no witnesses. Or people would have to come forward, you know, claiming a crime. And there's really no evidence that anyone's willing to do that at this point.
MARTÍNEZ: So now that Steve Belichick is gone, now that he has resigned, is that going to be the end of it? Or is there something possibly more left?
MURPHY: Yeah, you know, the investigation has concluded. Although, UNC says that if there are others out there with allegations, they would like them to come forward so that they can investigate, you know, whether that's related to Steve Belichick or the rest of the program as well. And you mentioned Michael Lombardi has also resigned, the general manager. These are two of Bill Belichick's, you know, closest confidants. Michael Lombardi's worked with him at many stops, and Steve Belichick is obviously his son. And so UNC said that these were isolated in scope, and they were not evidence of a systemic failure in the football program. But I think some people have doubts as to how all this could be happening and Bill Belichick either not aware or not involved in it some way.
MARTÍNEZ: Oh, yeah, because he's the head coach. And anyone that knows anything about sports knows that the buck stops with the head coach. So has Bill Belichick said anything about this?
MURPHY: He's not. He's been very tight-lipped about the investigation. UNC has tried to say they can't answer any questions because, you know, the investigation is ongoing. Now that it's over, it'll be interesting if Bill Belichick comments on the findings of the investigation and whether he agrees with sort of the steps that UNC has taken.
MARTÍNEZ: The Tar Heels are 2 and 0. The schedule gets a little tougher from here on out. They're on the road at Clemson this week, and then in a couple of weeks, they face No. 3 ranked Notre Dame. If they win, is that the perfume that kind of wipes the smell away of this? Or, I mean, how does the rest of the season look?
MURPHY: Yeah, no doubt. I mean, the schedule is pretty tough, not just Notre Dame but Miami and Louisville, also ranked teams. But if the team can win, I think that sort of changes the calculus. If they go 4 and 8 again, or even worse, as they did last year, then I think, you know, we'll see what happens in that case. But yeah, certainly, winning is a great perfume in sports.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, it sure is. Brian Murphy is an investigative sports reporter with Raleigh-based TV station WRAL. Brian, thanks.
MURPHY: Thank you.
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