Four members of the UNC football program were involved in a traffic stop in Chapel Hill on Tuesday night that ended with one arrest, according to a Wednesday night report from Inside Carolina.
The University of North Carolina later said it was looking into the matter. In its statement, the school said: “We are aware of the incident involving UNC football student-athletes Tuesday night in Chapel Hill. We are cooperating fully with the University and local officials, and will have no further comment while gathering additional information.”
According to police reports obtained by Spencer Haskell of Inside Carolina, the stop happened around 9:30 p.m. EST at 1050 Martin Luther King Jr.
Blvd. The vehicle was C.J.
Sadler’s 2024 Cadillac Escalade V, which had been reported roughly an hour earlier as a “careless and reckless driver.”
Sadler, who was one of four Tar Heels in the car, was charged with driving 60 mph in a 35 mph zone. Fellow freshman wide receiver Keeyun Chapman was arrested on a misdemeanor gun charge count of carrying a concealed weapon (handgun). The other two players in the vehicle have not been confirmed.
The report also says police seized 15.1 grams of marijuana during the stop. It further notes that this was Sadler’s third speeding citation since the beginning of August 2026.
Chapman, one of UNC’s top-ranked recruits in this year’s class, has not played through the first two games of the season. As of September 16 at 8:12 p.m. EST, both Sadler and Chapman were listed as “out” on UNC’s availability report for Saturday’s game against Clemson.
UNC has not said whether either player will face disciplinary action.
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