Beating the Michigan dead horse to death.

Nov 11, 2023, 10:30 AM

I know that's what I'm doing. But, one last comment.

Here is what the B1G statement says. (I'll link the entire statement below.)

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The Big Ten Conference announced today that the University of Michigan has been found in violation of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy for conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.
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So, there penalty is no penalty. They get to keep the wins they got with an unfair advantage. They aren't even fined for it. They get to reap the reward of their victories this year that they got by having an unfair advantage over their opponents. They are still eligible for the conference championship, even though they cheated.

And, here is a very subtle statement.

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For clarity, the Head Football Coach shall not be present at the game venue on the dates of the games to which this disciplinary action applies.
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To me, that statement allows Jim Harbaugh to sit in his hotel room, or some other off site location, watch the game on a big screen TV, complete with instant replays, and have direct communication with the coaches who are on the sideline. It allows him to have a zoom conference call with the players and coaches in the locker room during pre-game and halftime activities.

Heck, during covid, coaches who had covid were not allowed to talk to anyone at the game from 1 hour before the game until after the game because allowing them, to "coach from off site" would give them an unfair advantage.

As for punishing the players. "The B1G shouldn't punish the players" is the mantra. I submit to you, it would not be the B1G punishing the players, it would be Jim Harbaugh who punished them.

Putting my stick down now. The horse is dead.