WRAL released a report tonight indicating that the Camaro that was rented by Hadyn "Fats" Thomas and later re-rented by Catinia Farrington received a dozen parking citations on the University of North Carolina campus. P.J. Hairston was stopped for speeding in the same Camaro and later arrested on drug charges while operating another Thomas rental without a license.
After yet another run-in with the law, this time a speeding and reckless driving citation after getting nabbed for going 93 in a 55 in a car borrowed from a friend, Hairston was suspended indefinitely by UNC coach Roy Williams.
That UNC basketball players willfully disregard campus parking regulations is not exactly news, and there is no definitive proof as of yet that Hairston was driving the car at the time of the ticketings. However, the latest info is significant because it suggests that Hairston, if he was indeed the driver responsible for the violations, was not simply taking the occasional ride to the Quik-E-Mart in someone else's ride. The Camaro, which was ticketed at Hairston's dorm or at the Smith Center, was provided for him for an extended period.
Receiving over a thousand dollars worth of free car rental is clearly an impermissible benefit. And the fact that Thomas picked up the tab on the tickets to the tune of nearly $700 (and counting, as some are yet unpaid) may also concern the ever-vigilant watchdogs at the NCAA.
A Porsche Cayenne, a vehicle with a sticker price starting at $60,000, registered to Farrington also received a pair of parking violations on the UNC campus, most recently on July 1st. Apparently they pay adjunct psychology instructors really well at NCCU. Since NCCU is a HBCU, I am going to go ahead and start the rumor that Farrington was on campus to help a Heel write his AFAM Studies essay.