Former UNC Coach - Player Boycott Would Reverse Shoe Selling Suspensions

A former assistant coach for the University of North Carolina football team says players have the power - if they choose to use it - to reverse the suspensions of 13 players for improperly selling school-issued shoes. John Shoop served as North Carolina's offensive co-ordinator from 2007 to 2011 under then head coach Butch Davis. During that time, an academic scandal led to the suspensions of several players. Shoop says he sees echoes of that incident in the current one. But he says the ensuing years have shown college athletes have power to fight back against what Shoop calls unfair punishments for trivial offenses. And Shoop (who co-hosts BPR's sports & ethics podcast 'Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century' with his wife Marcia) believes if players refuse to play in the Tar Heels first game September 1 st against California, those suspensions would be dropped. "If they threaten to protest it, the problem will get solved," Shoop says. "(UNC athletic director) Bubba Cunningham,