Advancing Through Adversity

N. Carolina chancellor feels heat from fans

RALEIGH It was bound to happen.

In an Internet-crazed world, a controversial decision last week gave birth to a website demanding the ouster of University of North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp.

A North Carolina spokeswoman said phone calls and emails to Thorp about the firing of football coach Butch Davis have slowed. But some disappointed fans have unsuccessfully asked for ticket refunds and asked for explanations from the Rams Club athletics booster group.

Nine days before the start of football practice, Thorp fired Davis, explaining that allegations of nine major NCAA violations that included academic fraud have eroded the university's reputation.

Fans who were disappointed with Davis' dismissal responded by creating fireholdenthorp.com .

They are organizing a campaign to finance billboards in the Triangle advancing their cause. Matt Littlejohn, a Raleigh insurance and risk management consultant and Rams Club member who's a spokesman for the website, said fans are upset with the timing of the decision as well as the firing.

"I feel like a strong leader would have been able to handle this more appropriately," Littlejohn said, "and I think Holden Thorp is in over his head."

Littlejohn said Thorp's handling of the situation has damaged North Carolina's reputation as much as the actions of the football players who took the impermissible benefits that led to the NCAA investigation.

In an email response, North Carolina spokeswoman Nancy Davis wrote that Thorp is getting great support from University President Tom Ross, the Board of Trustees and faculty members. Nancy Davis wrote that Thorp is hearing from some alumni who are upset, but also from many who think he made the right decision.

According to Davis, Thorp has been able to focus on the school budget and consult with people about the search to replace departing athletics director Dick Baddour.

"The chancellor knew his decision wouldn't be embraced by everyone, but he was resolved that it was the right call to make," Nancy Davis wrote. "We think that most Carolina fans will look ahead now and support Coach (Everett) Withers and our student-athletes."

Wade Hargrove, a Raleigh lawyer sworn in as chairman of the school's Board of Trustees on July 24, reiterated Tuesday the board's support for Thorp in his controversial decision.

"The board understands fully the difficulty of the decisions, the implications it would have," Hargrove said, "but taking into consideration the long-term interests of the football program, the university's athletics program as a whole and the university's academic mission and its responsibilities to all students and those who care so deeply about Carolina, the decision was the right decision.

SWORD OF GOLIATH: Advancing Through Adversity

What’s behind the door? That’s the thing that’s rarely addressed in sermon after sermon on “open doors”. Walking through an open door is easy, but what happens when you encounter adversity on the other side? Think about it as moving into a new place. Going through the front door is usually a breeze, but to make that house a true dwelling place, and to have an effective home life, will take work. You will run into all types of adverse conditions. There will be times when repair, rehab, and restoration is required.

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