Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The families of several University of North Carolina women’s basketball players complained last week of racially insensitive remarks by Sylvia Hatchell, the school’s Hall of Fame coach who was subsequently put on leave, according to two people with direct knowledge of the allegations.
Hatchell’s lawyer, Wade M. Smith, said in an interview Thursday that his client was aware of the accusations that were described in detail by one of the people with direct knowledge. He said his client’s words had been misquoted or misconstrued.
The families detailed their concerns in a meeting that some U.