North Carolina Tar Heels

NCAA investigators meet with woman at center of UNC probe

Published May. 11, 2017 10:49 a.m. ET

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AP

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) A woman at the center of North Carolina's multi-year academic scandal interviewed with NCAA investigators after previously declining to cooperate in the probe.

Raleigh attorney Elliot Abrams told The Associated Press on Wednesday night that his client - Deborah Crowder - met all day with investigators. Crowder is a retired office administrator in the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies (AFAM) department.

''She has never wavered in terms of what happened,'' Abrams told the AP, ''and I think she knew that this was a chance to actually tell her story, and she did a good job of doing that.''

UNC faces five top-level charges, including lack of institutional control, in the long-running probe centered on irregular AFAM courses featuring significant athlete enrollments.

The school was due in March to respond to the charges. But the case hit one of its many delays after Abrams wrote the NCAA to say that Crowder was willing to talk with investigators.

Crowder, who graded many of the papers in the problem classes, also filed an affidavit in March defending the quality of the courses. She said she didn't create courses to provide special assistance for athletes, and non-athletes and athletes received equal treatment.

UNC spokesman Rick White declined comment on Thursday. NCAA spokeswoman Emily James also declined comment.

Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey, the chief hearing officer for the infractions panel handling UNC's case, wrote in a letter last month that Crowder's interview should take place in time to allow his panel to hear the case in August.

UNC is due to respond to the latest notice of allegations by Tuesday.

The website InsideCarolina.com was first to report that Crowder was interviewed.

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