NFL Tickets
If you ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you how absolutely ridiculous I think the term “student-athlete” is, given the current climate of big money collegiate athletics. I’m not expecting anyone who takes to the gridiron on Saturdays to rival Albert Einstein. I am, however, expecting them to be able to craft a simple report without having to plagiarize the work of an 11-year old.
Apparently the temptation to do just that was too much for North Carolina Tar Heels senior wideout Erik Highsmith.
According to a report originally surfaced in the Washington Post, Highsmith was asked to create a blog for a communications class and did so — albeit directly plagiarizing the work of four 11-year olds who had created a blog on chickens:
Senior wide receiver Erik Highsmith committed plagiarism on a blog for a communications class he took last spring, according to the report, and the source material he used just so happened to be a piece on chickens written on an education Web site… by four 11-year-olds.
You can’t make this stuff up.
I mean, seriously.
There are several things that are concerning about this story, first and foremost being that Highsmith is classified as an academic senior. How in god’s name could he have made it through three years of college-level academic work — at a well respected institution like North Carolina, nonetheless — when he found it necessary to plagiarize some pre-teens on a report about chickens?
Second, I’m concerned that Erik Highsmith is trolling us all. Perhaps he cares so little about his academics that he wanted to do no more work on this communications class project that doing the ol’ copy and paste from a blog you and I could design on Microsoft Paint.
Perhaps.
Given Highsmith caught only 587 yards worth of passes in 2012 for five touchdowns in 2012, NFL scouts probably won’t be knocking his doors down any time soon. The book learnin’ is important stuff.
Regardless, I don’t want to give him too much credit given the circus that surrounded Butch Davis during this tenure with the Tar Heels.
Me write good. Sometimes.
Erik Highsmith not write so good. Anytimes.
—
Kris Hughes is the College Football Network Manager for Rant Sports. You can follow Kris on Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook
—
H/T to Total Frat Move.
Share 
