UNC G.M. Michael Lombardi remains on paid administrative leave while the school investigates him. Recently, his lawyer has complained about the duration of the probe.
On Saturday, Tom Mars attacked the investigation in comments to David Ubben of The Athletic.
“If UNC had grounds to fire Michael for cause, they wouldn’t need to conduct such a far-ranging, lengthy witch hunt,” Mars told Ubben. “They would have done so by now. I think the motive behind the investigation goes further than a $1.5 million buyout. After all, UNC could fire Michael (or the athletic director or any head coach) for no reason at all just by paying their buyout. In today’s world, $1.5 million is just a drop in the bucket, so there must be other reasons behind this multimillion-dollar investigation.”
Previously, Mars provided similar comments to David Hale of ESPN, calling the investigation a “snipe hunt.”
Lombardi and Mars are entitled to their opinions on the matter. But if the situation surfaced, as it has been reported, from a complaint made by a former employee to the school, North Carolina has an obligation to conduct a full and thorough investigation. Through it all, Lombardi is still getting paid.
Mars almost seems to be daring UNC to fire Lombardi for cause. If that happens, Lombardi’s $1.5 million salary will be cut off. While he could have grounds to challenge the decision, he wouldn’t be getting paid while the case proceeds.
Generally speaking, it’s always better to be getting paid than to not be getting paid. If Lombardi and Mars want the investigation to be wrapped up quickly, Lombardi may not like the short-term impact a final decision has on his paycheck.
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