This is a press release by the university. They're trying to save their ass from this scandal, where:

- They pay some white supremacist group $2.5 million and pretend that that group has some sort legal claim to the statue

- Then sent a fraudulent DMCA takedown notice when third party shared the group leader's triumphant e-mail detailing how they pulled this off, and how nice their new aryan headquarters are going to be.

That mechanism seems to have been a fake lawsuit, with the $2.5 million settlement filed a total of 7 minutes after the lawsuit, and approved by a judge who also happens to have a personal connection to the case.

Sorry for not providing links (on mobile), but I've been following this on Twitter for the last few days.

The statue originally cost $193,500, adjusted for inflation. UNC just spent $2.5 million to get rid of it. Plus, they've spent a lot repairing it and on security over the years ($390,000 between July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018 alone.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Sam

Since "best" is a subjective term, I'll go ahead and disagree with UNC here. Best might have involved melting it down and using the copper in some new Cat6 wiring for a new science center, not paying a bunch of white supremacists an extortion fee.