Peppers confirms online transcript, denies fraud

Chapel Hill, N.C. — In a statement released Saturday, former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student-athlete Julius Peppers acknowledged that a transcript found to be posted to the UNC-CH website last week was in fact his, but he denies any fraudulent grades or courses.

According to the transcript posted to the university’s website, Peppers received at least a B in three courses within the African and Afro-American Studies Department that have been called into question for their legitimacy as it pertains to no-show professors, preferential admittance and possible grade changes and fraudulent signatures. Courses outside that department listed on the transcript were mostly C's, D's, and F's.

“I took every course with qualified members of the UNC faculty and I earned every grade whether it was good or bad,” the statement reads. “I was never given unapproved assistance or preferential treatment in terms of my academic career because I was a student-athlete. I was also never deemed ineligible to compete on any of the football or basketball teams.”

The document also shows four independent studies courses in the African and Afro-American Studies department, including the same one three times. Those classes, which don't require class time, were some of the more than four dozen classes that were the focus of a WRAL investigation earlier this month.

The transcript, when compared to a "test transcript" obtained by WRAL, indicates that the AFAM courses may have kept Peppers eligible for athletic participation while at UNC. The document does not list any professors so it is unclear if Peppers took classes from the former department head, Julius Nyang'oro, who stepped down this summer because of the academic scandal. Nyang’oro is connected to 54 classes that a UNC-CH internal review found to have irregularities.

“During my undergraduate years, I, like many other students was trying to find direction and adjust to being independent for the first time as a young adult,” Peppers’ statement reads. “With this new freedom and unfamiliar environment, I will admit that, at times some of my priorities were not always aligned properly.”

The statement was first provided to the Chicago Tribune through Peppers’ agent, Carl Carey before being sent to local media outlets, including WRAL. In the statement, Peppers says it “has been an upsetting and challenging week” and that he is “terribly disappointed in the fact that my privacy has been violated.”

Carey, now Peppers’ agent, was an academic advisor for the former Tar Heels football and basketball player from 1999 to 2001.

As of Tuesday, UNC-CH had not confirmed nor denied the document to be that of Peppers, but said they were looking into the posting of it. On Thursday, UNC appointed former Gov. Jim Martin to lead an independent investigation of the AFAM department with the help of an outside consulting firm.

Martin has been given a deadline of mid-October to come up with a report on his findings of improprieties in the AFAM department and if they dated back before 2007. He indicated he will begin early next week saying, “(We will) go where the evidence takes us.”

Now that the transcript has been confirmed to be that of Peppers, UNC could be in more trouble federally. A U.S. Department of Education official told WRAL last week the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act “protects the education record of the student who is or has been in attendance at the school.” The official said it makes no difference whether the student is current or former.

If an individual complains that their privacy rights have been violated to the U.S. Department of Education, that institution could possibly lose federal funding.