Good morning, readers.
For decades, the UNC women’s soccer team has been a powerhouse in college sports and a funnel to the professional league, under the leadership of coach Anson Dorrance.
But a tough past few seasons have seen the Tar Heels fall just short of national titles and the early exits of more than two dozen players in recent years are calling that legacy into question. Twenty-one players from last year’s roster have departed to other schools, gone pro, or left soccer altogether.
As Matt Hartman reports for The Assembly, there are also questions about the team’s culture.
Dorrance’s “competitive cauldron” approach, which involves tracking and ranking players across various metrics and sharing them with the team, is uncomfortable and stressful, some players say.
A relationship between a former coach and a player has also come under scrutiny.
“[Dorrance] got away with putting his players in an unsafe environment,” says Samantha Martel Johnson, a former professional player.
“The University handles every report of alleged misconduct with a commitment to the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff,” said UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham in a statement.
Read the whole story here.
—Jane
Durham
Pro-Palestine demonstrators disrupted traffic in downtown Durham last week.
Wake
The Bezos Earth Fund is giving $30 million to NC State to research lab-grown proteins.
Orange
UNC has removed fencing around Polk Place a month after students set up an encampment to protest the war in Gaza.
North Carolina
State lawmakers are weighing how to fund services for North Carolina’s more than 200,000 students with disabilities.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 85 degrees, a chance of showers and storms.
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