UNC Football Suspensions Begin to Come Down from NCAA

The NCAA has handed down its first suspensions of UNC football players in reference to allegations of improper benefits from agents and academic fraud.

According to a Sporting News report, starting cornerback Kendric Burney and starting safety Deunta Williams have been deemed ineligible until the following actions are completed.

Burney must miss four more games (a total of six) and pay $575.19 to a charity of his choice. He received benefits from an individual meeting the NCAA's definition of an agent in the form of trips to California, Las Vegas, and Atlanta.

Williams will miss two more games (a total of four) and must pay $450.67 to a charity of his choice. He went on two separate trips to California on an agent's dime.

Athletic director Dick Baddour has announced that the university will appeal the NCAA's decisions on the number of games.

The announcements of Burney and Williams' ineligibility will certainly not be the last, as 10 more players have not yet played this season due to UNC's ongoing internal investigation.

Defensive tackle and projected first-round pick Marvin Austin is still under a suspension for violation of team rules unrelated to the investigations and has been implicated in both the agent and academic prongs of investigation.

He made news with his attendance of the Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game against LSU on September 4. He was joined by several other teammates, including cornerback Charles Brown, the other starting cornerback.

Before the conference and home opener against Georgia Tech this past weekend, coach Butch Davis announced that withheld players would no longer be allowed on the sideline for games in an attempt to limit distractions.

UNC certainly has enough distractions already. The sooner the team knows how long players will have to sit, the sooner the team can focus only on playing football.