Report: UNC football players cited for 31 speeding, 10 reckless driving charges

Football players at North Carolina have received an alarmingly high rate of traffic violations in the past year. According to Pat Welter of WRAL in Raleigh, court records revealed that Tar Heels players have received 31 speeding citations and 10 reckless driving counts since October 2024.

The report also stated that 20 percent of the 101 players in the UNC roster had been cited for a traffic violation in that span. One player, linebacker Khmori House, has accounted for nine of the total violations — five speeding and four reckless driving charges. Police officers stated after two of his citations that the repeated infractions are no longer a mistake, but a behavioral problem.

Two other players — defensive backs Thaddeus Dixon and Gavin Gibson — have been cited for multiple violations. Dixon was cited for reckless driving on one instance in which he was allegedly going 93 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone.

By contrast, NC State saw only 10 speeding citations and two reckless drivings despite having a larger roster with 124 players. This indicates that the problem is perhaps within the Tar Heels program not doing enough to prevent these offenses from continuing to happen.

WRAL reached out to North Carolina to ask whether it had taken any disciplinary measures had been taken against football players for their driving infractions. The school reportedly acknowledged the question but chose not to comment.

House is the team’s leading tackler and has played in all 10 games for the Tar Heels this season. He recorded nine tackles this past Saturday against Wake Forest.

Likewise, Gibson has appeared in every game this season. Dixon has not played in a month, but that is due to injury rather than any sort of suspension.

Unfortunately, UNC is not the only program at which reckless driving has been an issue recently. After Georgia won the national championship in January 2023, Bulldogs offensive lineman Devin Willock died in a car crash as defensive lineman Jalen Carter was charged with reckless driving. Carter was racing a car in which Willock was a passenger, driven by Bulldogs recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy, who also died in the crash.

Georgia later implemented a rule in which players who receive reckless driving charges can receive fines from the team that result in a loss of NIL money. This is in addition to any fines they may have to pay as a result of charges from police. It might behoove North Carolina to follow suit in that regard, before this trend gets any more out of hand.