‘No one who can rein in these players?’: UNC football piles up parking complaints, speeding tickets

Key Points:

• Since January, multiple University of North Carolina football players have been repeatedly cited for speeding and reckless driving, with some parking illegally in disabled spots on campus, raising concerns about enforcement and player behavior.
• Long-time UNC professor Mark Peifer has repeatedly alerted university officials and the athletics department about players’ disregard for parking and driving rules, including speeding in parking decks and occupying handicapped spaces, but efforts to curb these behaviors have seen limited success.
• UNC Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham acknowledged the issues and expressed frustration over the lack of behavioral change, though enforcement actions such as ticketing have been attempted; Cunningham will soon transition to a new role, with Steve Newmark set to become the new athletic director.
• Key players cited include Demon June, the team’s leading rusher, and transfer Jelani Thurman, both cited multiple times for speeding and reckless driving, with Thurman also facing citations for lack of insurance and expired vehicle registration.
• The ongoing off-field conduct issues, including dangerous driving and parking violations, have raised questions about the football program’s culture under head coach Bill Belichick, who has stressed the importance of conduct but has yet to fully resolve these problems.