Bill Belichick and North Carolina football haven’t even played a game yet and they’re already dealing with off-field headaches. The Tar Heels open against TCU on August 29, but the big story right now is the investigation into NIL violations and the fact that general manager Michael Lombardi was placed on leave after an HR complaint.
Belichick finally broke his silence on the Lombardi situation Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, he kept it pretty vague.
“We are working through some things. We’re at a particular time of year now where there are certain things that are in play and certain things that aren’t in play,” Belichick said. “We’re taking it day by day. And, you know, working through the things that are on the table now.”
Yeah, that doesn’t tell us much. But it’s the first time he’s said anything publicly since the news broke.
UNC Athletic Director Also Weighs In
Steve Newark, the athletic director at UNC, followed Belichick’s remarks with his own statement. He stressed the importance of a fair process.
“It’s paramount for us to do what’s right to make sure it’s a full and fair review, and that we don’t do anything to compromise the integrity of the process,” said Newark. “We’re hopeful that it will be an expedited process, because essentially what is important to us is trying to make sure we’re doing what’s right for the university and the athletic department and our student-athletes, is to ensure that once we get the results of the process, we take them into consideration and then we act quickly on whatever action may be appropriate based on those findings. At this point, there’s only been two official actions.”
Newark didn’t get into specifics about what those two actions were. That’s probably intentional.
The Timeline and What We Know
Lombardi has been on leave since June 27. According to school policy, the maximum leave is 30 days. So we’re getting close to that window closing. The school also issued its own statement, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
“As a result of concerns behind allegations that led to the personnel action regarding Michael Lombardi announced on July 27, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, through its Office of University Counsel, is in the process of investigating this matter. Because this involves confidential personnel issues, the University will not comment on the nature of the allegations or discuss personnel information,” the statement read.
Translation: They’re looking into it. They’re not telling us anything. And they won’t until they have to.
The investigation into Lombardi is expected to wrap up quickly, possibly before the TCU game. But the separate NIL violations probe could drag on much longer. That one might not have a resolution anytime soon.
For now, Belichick and UNC are trying to keep the focus on football. But with Lombardi’s status uncertain and the NCAA poking around, that’s getting harder by the day.
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