Former UNC defensive end Michael McAdoo, who was deemed permanently ineligible by the NCAA in November, filed a lawsuit against Chancellor Holden Thorp, the University and the NCAA on Friday in an attempt to have his eligibility reinstated.
The lawsuit claims McAdoo “was improperly and unjustly declared permanently ineligible to play intercollegiate athletics.”
McAdoo was suspended by the University for the first three games of the 2010 football season after officials found that he had received extra benefits valued at $110, as well as impermissible academic assistance, according to documents included in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit comprises 284 pages of documents which include a transcript of the NCAA reinstatement hearing, as well as multiple emails exchanged between McAdoo and former tutor Jennifer Wiley.
In a notice of allegations sent to UNC by the NCAA, McAdoo is cited for accepting benefits valued at $54.50, paid for by Todd Stewart of Pro Sports Financial.
The NCAA also claimed that McAdoo received impermissible academic benefits multiple times over several months.
The University self-reported the violations to the NCAA in September, and according to a letter written to the NCAA by Athletic Director Dick Baddour, the University claimed that McAdoo wasn’t aware at the time that the academic assistance he received was impermissible.
Noah Huffstetler, McAdoo’s lawyer, said the suit is based on the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance.
“The Instrument is an agreement between students and UNC… and should be enforceable against UNC as well as students,” Huffstetler said.
