Dinich: B1G response "coming early this afternoon"
November 10th, 2023 at 8:54 AM ^
There are people wondering if he's as stupid as he appears and I think he's already answered that question loud and clear. If he thinks this is the worst scandal the Big Ten has ever seen, then he thinks diddling kids in the shower is no big deal. I think this guy is going to go big today. I think he will lose but I don't think he backs down. He's gotta back up the bluster, in his mind at least, and he doesn't want the label that he's already starting to get. The label of incompetence.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:29 AM ^
Reading that Michigan letter and accepting it as true, which I absolutely do, there is no way in God’s green earth He can act in good faith to penalize our school in any fashion. Conceivably proof may develop later, though we all doubt that, but right now it would be a very bad move for him.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:46 AM ^
Why wouldn't the facts of the letter be true?
November 10th, 2023 at 11:06 AM ^
not sure of this question, but the reason i emphasize the obvious truthfulness of the michigan letter is that it stands in stark contrast to the absolute manure shower of lies and slander that have been put out there by our enemies.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:41 AM ^
My sense is that not announcing anything yesterday was the blink. While it's true, as some have written, that responding as soon as yesterday would have had the appearance of not fully digesting Michigan's response arguments, I think if Pettiti was going to forge ahead he would have announced something yesterday afternoon.
Now it's Friday, the day before a big game, and supposedly he's going to announce something. It seems pretty obvious that suspending Harbaugh the day before said big game would be an act of bad faith that might not play well in court. Yes, he could be that stupid and do it anyway, I'm not naive but I think he might not do that.
My biased and hopeful guess is that he announces, after careful consideration, that he's going to defer to the NCAA investigation. He knows that anything more than that (a/o a $10K fine) will lead Michigan to go nuclear, in which case the conference is thrown into real turmoil and his tenure as commish will be over before it really starts.
Despite all of the jokes about him being a stupid moron, etc. I suspect that he's just smart (or self-interested) enough to make the prudent move here. Fingers crossed.
November 10th, 2023 at 7:54 AM ^
That’s good news I think? Leaves plenty of time to file suits if it doesn’t go our way.
November 10th, 2023 at 7:55 AM ^
Guessing it’s a fine.
November 10th, 2023 at 7:58 AM ^
Just be a fine… if you know what’s good for you
November 10th, 2023 at 8:14 AM ^
And fight the fine if you are Michigan.
November 10th, 2023 at 9:15 AM ^
Don't pay them a single red cent.
November 10th, 2023 at 11:44 AM ^
All checks are payable to Williams & Connolly (aka The Smith & Wesson of law firms).
November 10th, 2023 at 7:59 AM ^
If this entire incident went to court with the “evidence” they showed Michigan, a judge would throw this out in 30 seconds. If Ryan Day paid his brothers for this PI evidence, he is dumber than one would imagine. Good luck in AA in a couple of weeks. Petitti and Ryan Day will be fired by spring
November 10th, 2023 at 8:42 AM ^
Not necessarily. You have to remember that Michigan is the party that would be instituting litigation. It’s Michigan’s burden to prove the conference is acting without authority based on rules and bylaws. The evidence would be a consideration, but a secondary one to process. However. It is certainly shaky enough at this point to be enjoined, IMO.
It is interesting to consider whether the University could seek to enjoin it successfully or if it may need to be Harbaugh, personally.
November 10th, 2023 at 7:59 AM ^
Fire, ready, aim!
November 10th, 2023 at 8:01 AM ^
Big decision for pettit… you may very well be sowing the seeds of destroying the conference with an unfounded suspension!!! But then again you’ve shown yourself to be a FUCKING IDIOT !!!
November 10th, 2023 at 8:01 AM ^
Based on the intelligence and legal advice Petitti has exhibited so far, it wouldn't surprise me if he thought that issuing the suspension five minutes after Michigan's plane takes off was going to work out for him.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:04 AM ^
That would look so pathetic that it would confirm their motivation. Probably works in our favor in the long run.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:15 AM ^
Announcing it at 10:00a.m. on Saturday would not surprise me.
If he does that....Harbaugh can buy a 50-yard line seat on Seat Geek, get his iPhone out and start recording...
November 10th, 2023 at 8:24 AM ^
They are just making Michigans options better and better. Malice, compromised (pending the investigation, of course) and colluded upon. A narrative seeking a crime.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:35 AM ^
I’m really hoping cooler heads prevail here, but if this is when he decides to lay down a suspension, as the team is getting on the fucking airplane, there is nothing anyone can ever say that will tell me this isn’t personal, and that it’s not all motivated simply by hatred of Harbaugh, anger of losing to him, and wanting his program to suffer.
November 10th, 2023 at 9:07 AM ^
That would be such a bad-faith move that Michigan should demand Pettiti's removal, and absent that, threaten to explore leaving the conference.
I would hope that the league would stop to look at the big picture. Is it really worth fighting a battle royale with one of your most valuable members over this piddling issue? A rule that the NCAA nearly abolished two years ago, and - I suspect - probably will abolish in the near future?
November 10th, 2023 at 9:24 AM ^
Yeah, he will issue a suspension 5 minutes after the plane takes off, bar Jim from any contact with the team, and then issue an additional penalty for being in close proximity to the team for the duration of the flight.
This entire process looks like bad faith from the very beginning. We all know the prudent approach would be to process the new information that he received and wait for an investigation, but he seems disinterested in doing the right thing. Hopefully someday we will find out what kind of leverage the rest of the B1G has on him.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:01 AM ^
Friday news dump. It won't be harsh enough for EL and Columbus, though obviously anything less than Harbaugh being drawn and quartered on the O wouldn't be harsh enough.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:03 AM ^
Oh, surely Tony Petitti wouldn't attempt the most cowardly thing possible, would he?
/s, obviously
Also, I assume the Michigan legal community is officially in a "heightened state of readiness".
November 10th, 2023 at 8:33 AM ^
We are all working on our arguments for Tom Mars to “borrow” from the board
November 10th, 2023 at 8:04 AM ^
I also think a fine will be announced.
I think Petitti beginning with the threat to suspend Harbaugh indefinitely was a massive blunder. He very publicly backed himself into a corner and is going to come out looking pretty bad in the end. He should've fined Michigan whatever amount of money it costs to outfit Big Ten teams with helmet communication (implemented next year). Then the problem would go away in the future and the punishment would make sense (Michigan covers the initial cost of the transition to helmet communication). If that was his initial reaction, I think all parties would've moved on by now, and Petitti's future with the Big Ten would seem more promising. Instead, he handled this like an absolute novice.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:24 AM ^
He didn’t do it publicly. It was leaked, but no such public statement was made, so he has no public position from which to back away.
The high level of leaks *do* put pressure on him, both by laying out rapid time tables and establishing high stakes, which is consistent with a combination of hostile B1G programs and a corrupt media establishment looking to pressure Pettiti into an extra-legal nuke of a rival program.
But, publicly speaking, Pettiti hasn’t officially said that a multi-game suspension is a possible outcome. So, at least officially, he can save face here.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:38 AM ^
The investigative firm and/or school who hired them has put together a massive PR job through the media to put as much pressure on the Big Ten and NCAA to punish Michigan ASAP and damage Michigan and Harbaugh's reputation through their leaks to Thamel and others. I am still shocked that someone has not written more on this investigative firm or dug up who hired them.
Michigan has now started their own campaign to fight back this week with reporters giving more of the whole picture of sign stealing in college football, but was it too late?
November 10th, 2023 at 9:09 AM ^
I am not sure that it was too late, but the narrative stopped to soon. If this post is correct (and I have no reason to doubt it), then "UM did share some of the more egregious info with the B1G and NCAA over the years, who chose never to act." In my opinion, some of those details should have been publicized by this point to set a narrative of selective enforcement by the B1G and to bolster a legal argument that any punitive actions by the conference at this time are arbitrary and capricious.
November 10th, 2023 at 9:27 AM ^
Let them commit to the fine over the suspension, then continue the leaks. Don't firebomb them while we are still hoping that they will act reasonably.
November 10th, 2023 at 9:19 AM ^
What if Pettiti realizes the tough position this cabal has put us in and reverses the narrative to save his won job. It would be cool to see a statement come out that calls out the PR hit job, names names and punishes the offending coaches/schools that drummed up these bogus charges.
I don't know if anything less could save his job.
November 10th, 2023 at 9:58 AM ^
His only hope is to find something that make everyone a little ticked off, but not mad enough to take further action. If he comes out in M's favor, then the mob gets him removed.
November 10th, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
Nothing is saving his job, if he doesn't hammer Michigan then the anti-Mich cabal will force him out.
November 10th, 2023 at 12:24 PM ^
I think little Tony saves his bacon, IF:
- He quietly lets the lunatics that gaslighted him that they were in great error, and have given up any good faith they had - and given the information shared, they should quietly back away from the big kids playground.
- He quietly lets UM know that while this whole episode was dramatically out of proportion, Stallions legitimately broke a rule - he is a nut, but he was your nut, so in addition to his employment status, the school gets a modest fine
- If all parties agree to the terms, he can then make a polite and succinct announcement
As much as many of us would love to see the angry mob flayed for all to see, I just can't see any commisioner level human being that stupid as to drive a narrative that leads to that result. That ineptitude leads to a funeral for a career.
November 10th, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
You're right that he didn't make a public statement. I still feel like making inflammatory comments in front of people that you know will leak the information is still definitely a misstep. We'll see how he handles it all today.
You are absolutely correct that the leaks are putting pressure on him. If nothing else, he will hopefully have a better poker face going forward and won't say things that encourage the mob.
November 10th, 2023 at 10:21 AM ^
If there we leaks he didn't like, he could have "leaked" another narrative that he wanted . . . "Inside sources say that it should not be assumed that a suspension is in the works, it is just one of many possible options."
November 10th, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
Pretty sure the email from “Chad” threatening suspension of Harbaugh was an official statement. Sure that’s not *technically* public, but you can’t argue with a straight face that he’s not taken an official position of intent to suspend Harbaugh.
November 10th, 2023 at 10:08 AM ^
It's funny...a couple of days ago I got an e-mail from our credit union with advice about avoiding scams and it included this:
Always remain cautious of callers using high-pressure tactics to get you to act quickly.
and my first thought was of Petitti.
November 10th, 2023 at 10:53 AM ^
"no such public statement was made, so he has no public position from which to back away."
It's possible that you are right here but I thought that issuing a notice of potential action to a public university would be a public statement (although maybe one that without a leak would not be immediately available). Is that not correct?
November 10th, 2023 at 8:41 AM ^
This is a great solution. It's a compromise that neither pleases nor placates both sides. And it funds the solution, the move to helmet comm's.
I think Pettiti is a people-pleaser. This would be perfect.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:04 AM ^
The right answer is something like "engaging in a coordinated effort with the NCAA to clarify rules around advance scouting while developing a plan to introduce in-helmet communications for the 2024 season."
If their action is targeted specifically at Michigan, Michigan should go nuclear. Just leak everything we have on OSU and everyone in the conference and start evaluating alternatives in the off season.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:29 AM ^
Completely concur, I hope he's at least smart enough to realize that his job is on the line with this particular decision today.
Anything other than a complete deferral to due process should be viewed with seething contempt by U of M, and the posturing / warnings from our side leading up to this certainly align with that.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:04 AM ^
Options:
- No news at all actually
- Fine of $10k (which we should contest)
- Fine + 2-game suspension (also, contest)
- Other
Whaddya think this bozo will do?
Oh yeah, he did do one thing I find useful: UNITE THE ENTIRE FUCKING MICHIGAN FANBASE
November 10th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
If a $10,000 fine puts an end to this then I would pay the fine and move on. Justice comes at a price and in this case it would be substantially more than $10,000 and I wouldn't want them to have to scrap the DJ to pay for it.
November 10th, 2023 at 9:07 AM ^
Scrap the DJ? By all means, fight, fight, fight!!
November 10th, 2023 at 9:50 AM ^
Only if it’s a fine against ALL the schools involved in sign-sharing.
Otherwise all the legal arguments made by Michigan still apply.
November 10th, 2023 at 9:58 AM ^
Pay it in pennies
November 10th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
If a $10,000 fine puts an end to this with the Big Ten AND the NCAA, then I would pay the fine and move on.
Fixed it.
November 10th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
It won't. The NCAA isn't a party to what BT is doing.
November 10th, 2023 at 8:05 AM ^
Wow, what a POS. Suspending Harbaugh this afternoon would be a blatant attempt to sabotage Michigan to an extent to which I never thought Petitti would go. That’s not merely putting a thumb on the scale but a whole hand. You don’t come back from that. It would essentially be blowing up the conference in the 1st 6 months of his tenure.