P.J. Hairston Suspended Indefinitely By UNC Tar Heels Coach Roy Williams
BySpeeding citations are hardly worth an indefinite suspension from a college basketball team, unless it is University of North Carolina's (UNC) P.J. Hairston.
USA Today first reported UNC's troubled leading scorer being pulled over Sunday evening for driving 93 mph in a 65 mph zone. He was cited for speeding and careless and reckless driving. Roy Williams, the Tar Heels head coach, suspended Hairston indefinitely later that night.
Hairston, 20, has driven two other cars in the past month, both rented a convicted felon named Haydn "Fats" Thomas. He is currently a nightclub promoter and has ties to numerous other athletes in the area.
The State Highway Patrol pulled Hairston over around 4:30 p.m. outside Salisbury, N.C. while he was heading southbound on Interstate 85. He was driving a 2008 Acura TL and was clocked at 93 mph. His court date is scheduled for Aug. 30.
The suspension was officially retroactive to the driving citation, but it is the latest in an ongoing saga of off-court issues. He was arrested on June 5 for driving without a license and possession of marijuana. Both charges were dropped after he produced a valid license and completed a drug-related assessment.
"P.J. and I have had several discussions already and he knows he has made serious mistakes and there will be serious consequences as a result," Williams said in a statement at the time. "Certainly the idea of suspending P.J. has been discussed. However, he is not currently enrolled in summer school, is not practicing with the team and we have no games until November."
During the June 5 stop, police also found a nine-millimeter handgun and a magazine with nine rounds of ammunition in it, but neither Hairston nor his passengers faced charges for it.
Hairston was cited for speeding in May driving a 2012 Camaro SS, rented by Catinia Farrington, who shares the same home address as Thomas.
USA Today confirmed Hairston was driving a 2013 GMC Yukon when he was pulled over on June 5. The car had been rented by Thomas from June 2-5 for $1,261.64, but he claimed to have lent to a friend who was a mutual friend of Hairston's. Thomas claims to have no connection to the Tar Heel guard.
Thomas said he has not been contacted by either the NCAA or by UNC.