Signgate The Tenth: All Over But The Shouting, Of Which There Is Plenty
What's this? Why no UFR? YouTube just implemented a daily limit of video uploads unless you've gone through a verification process that they have a 24 hour turnaround on. So it'll have to be tomorrow. Instead: this. Hooray!
Seems like everything has happened. I haven't put up one of these posts this week because there hasn't been much to talk about. It seems like everything bad has been reported, more or less, and that the Harbaugh suspension is the only thing that's happening before the NCAA issues a ruling in 2026.
There's a hearing Friday as Michigan seeks to get its temporary restraining order, which I am not qualified to opine about the likelihood of. You seem to get wildly different takes from the various law-talking guys out there.
As far as the NCAA stuff is concerned. It still seems clear that Stalions was operating on his own. Or, at least, it's clear there's no evidence tying anyone else into Stalions's scheme. Michigan set a land speed record for most quickly fulfilled FOIA when Larry Lage asked for Stalions expense reports, of which there are none. This is some small relief since given events that have already transpired there was a nonzero chance Stalions would file reports with column headers like "I NOT BOUND BY THE LAWS OF GOD AND MAN," etc.
Meanwhile, John Harbaugh confirmed what everyone suspected once Jim's contract offer was put back on the table: they went over all of Harbaugh's communications and found nothing.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh on his brother Jim Harbaugh and the situation right now at Michigan due to alleged sign-stealing investigation. John said he's "proud" of his brother and "he stands tall through all this." pic.twitter.com/MhNB4559Vm
— Morgan Adsit (@MorganAdsit) November 14, 2023
Not surprising since the Big Ten admitted they had no evidence linking Harbaugh to Stalions immediately before suspending him anyway.
[After THE JUMP: chicanery!]
The money angle. The money angle has not been particularly compelling to me given everything else we know about Stalions, and the fact that he'd managed to get a job at Michigan that had some pretty high upside, salary-wise, if he'd managed to keep it. But FWIW, Josh Henschke has some details on a house that Stalions owned in California when he was at Camp Pendleton that he sold upon taking the analyst job in Ann Arbor. Our man appears to have cleared a nice profit over the course of three years.
The legal chicanery! Raj:
I regret to inform you that the most Michigan™ thing has happened, and that is UM Law prof Daniel Crane arguing in the Yale Journal of Regulation that NCAA bylaws prohibiting advanced scouting violate antitrust law. We are reaching never-before-seen levels of Michigan™.…
— raj.docx (@internetraj) November 9, 2023
This is because they are solely financial in their motivation and Alston has blown up the ability for the NCAA to restrict these sorts of things:
In recent years, NCAA rules that limit economic competition by member schools have been in serious antitrust trouble. In 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the NCAA’s enforcement of rules limiting member school compensation of student athletes up to the full cost of their education violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act. National Collegiate Athletic Ass’n v. Alston, 141 S. Ct. 2141 (2021). Six years earlier, the Ninth Circuit reached a similar decision regarding NCAA’s restrictions on student athlete name, image, and likeness rights. O’Bannon v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 802 F.3d 1049 (9th Cir. 2015). In the more distant past, the Supreme Court held that NCAA limitations on television broadcasting violated the Sherman Act. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Board of Regents of Univ. of Okla., 468 U.S. 85 (1984). The common thread of these cases is that NCAA rules that limit member schools from freely determining how to allocate their resources can run afoul of the antitrust laws, even if (or perhaps because) those rules are designed to achieve intercollegiate economic parity.
I don't think Michigan is going to bring this argument in front of the NCAA directly but it could be another reason—aside from all the good ones, you know—that the NCAA is disinclined to do much more than slap Michigan's wrist.
Another good reason. Bruce Feldman's article on the aftermath of the Wakeyleaks scandal—wherein a guy who Dave Clawson did not retain on staff became a radio announcer for Wake Forest and leaked the Demon Deacons' gameplans to their opponents—is another example of the NCAA looking at a pretty clear violation of the prohibition against in-person scouting and doing nothing. What's more than that, the NCAA learned of Wakeyleaks and did not tell Wake Forest:
That coach asked Clawson if anything ever happened with Elrod. Clawson was confused; despite the notoriety of “WakeyLeaks,” he hadn’t been aware that his friend had known about the scandal. But the coach told Clawson that he’d actually called the NCAA in 2014 after he got a call from someone he didn’t know; he was trying to give him Wake Forests’ game plans right before they played. It all seemed very fishy and really suspicious, the coach told Clawson.
“Did the NCAA ever get ahold of you?” he asked Clawson.
“Yeah,” Clawson replied, slowly. “Three years later.”
Clawson was incredulous as to why the NCAA didn’t alert his staff after the organization had been tipped off in 2014.
“Maybe the NCAA didn’t feel like it constituted a rules violation. I don’t know,” he told The Athletic. “You’d think they’d have at least given us a heads up. We were compromised for three years. Those next three years could’ve been avoided.”
I have no idea how you turn around and hammer Michigan after literally ignoring that event.
More documents. Michigan supplied a PDF noting that OSU had decoded a lot of Don Brown's signs based on TV:
This is accurate. We were in possession of these documents as well. It’s a 7 page PDF. Here are some pages not included in Matt’s tweet. https://t.co/ignwFIshb5 pic.twitter.com/LbuyKXJkWi
— Josh Henschke (@JoshHenschke) November 10, 2023
Not against the rules, of course, but further indication that sign stealing is common, that you can get just about all of it off TV, and that player safety arguments are complete bunk.
Etc: J Brady McCullough on the Pac-12 teams entering the league that are like "wait… what?" A summary of the Michigan and Tom Mars letters to the court if you want to tl;dr it.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:25 PM ^
Ignoring the magnificent culture clash that would result, that would not be a terrible match for both parties.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:11 PM ^
Playing devil’s advocate, we have talked about this type of activity here before. I’m not sure there’s anything illegal about the PDF if it comes from screen grabs of televised games.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:15 PM ^
I think the broader point is that even if Stalions was violating a rule, all of the info he was getting could've been obtained legally elsewehere. Hence all of the "unfair advantage" talk is all just nonsense.
Edit to also add I would argue it's more of an unfair advantage to have a team you've already played give all of your signs to a future opponent and tell them "here, we've decoded all of their signs, use them to beat the team we couldn't."
November 16th, 2023 at 2:28 PM ^
Yes. It turfs all of these arguments
- unfair competitive advantage
- dangerous to player safety
- serious implications for Vegas
unless you’re gonna argue all the same applied to OSU and various Big Ten teams several years ago. You can pretty much only argue “well Stallions cant steal signs like that” which is whatever.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:01 PM ^
Which calls for probation, not suspension.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:16 PM ^
And, as noted above, from Michigan's scoreboard jumbotron
November 16th, 2023 at 2:26 PM ^
It provides exactly what Brian said. 1. you get 90% from what every team has access to, so Stallions at best is ekeing out an extra few percentage points and 2. it can't be a player safety issue if you allow others to get signs through other methods
November 16th, 2023 at 3:11 PM ^
And do we know if the videos Stalions got from his friends were even as good as these? How good of a view of the sidelines did they get from the stands?
November 16th, 2023 at 2:29 PM ^
There is nothing "illegal" about any of this. But if the B1G is citing "sportsmanship" and "danger to players" from Stalion's scouting then it seems like this activity raises the same concerns (and obviously undermines those bogus concerns).
November 16th, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^
This is literally the text after that section:
"Not against the rules, of course, but further indication that sign stealing is common, that you can get just about all of it off TV, and that player safety arguments are complete bunk."
November 16th, 2023 at 2:11 PM ^
I have no idea how you turn around and hammer Michigan after literally ignoring that event.
Uh, because hypocrisy is endemic to our culture now? I can't recall the last time someone was successfully shamed in public over hypocrisy. If anything, it's turning into an indication of cleverness, that you're more pragmatic and savvy. Ethical consistency is for naive goodie-two-shoes begging to be manipulated.
I mean, I agree with Brian 100% in principle. But I also realize that calling out hypocrisy has precisely zero effectiveness in any situation anymore. It's not a legal argument, and in the court of public opinion it just gets a quick "bothsides durr" and it's cooked.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:32 PM ^
Agree with your overall point but it's absolutely a good legal argument that a governing body is applying its rules/actions to certain members in one way and to other members in another way.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:12 PM ^
My dream about the resolution of SignalGate, that I know will not happen tomorrow is:
- NCAA Calls Up the B1G today and says they are not going to further pursue SignalGate investigation against Michigan
- The B1G commissioner reconsiders and backs down in advance of the hearing tomorrow. Maybe gets Michigan agree to cut the suspension down to one or two games only. TOR case is dropped.
- Makes The Game fair and square
- Commissioner can save face saying he tried to penalize Michigan and had not choice but to back down to the other schools in the Conference
One can dream about a Win-Win scenario even though the parties involved are not inclined to compromise.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:15 PM ^
That would be nice but UM should still sue. If there is no wrong doing on their end other than what has already come out, they should sue B1G and expose every school that went after them.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:20 PM ^
I Concur....
November 16th, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
Pettiti HAD a way out last week. He could have fined Harbaugh 10k consistent with B1G rules and said the rest is up to the NCAA. He could have claimed he "punished" Michigan and then passed the buck.
He choose...differently.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:17 PM ^
Or he could have just decided to wait for the NCAA to finish.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:14 PM ^
Petitti needs to just fall on his sword, and admit that he succumbed to BS pressure from rival schools, and crawl back into a hole, sooner than later. The longer he draws out this charade, the more idiotic he looks.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:21 PM ^
Yes. If his strategy was to boost ratings for The Game, I think he had done all he can.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:52 PM ^
Forget trying not to look idiotic. I think a very reasonable take at this point is he needs to do this if he wants to try to salvage his job.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:14 PM ^
Another interesting facet of this is the anti-Michigan Yes-but, a variation of whataboutism.
Yes, not a serious violation but how can we live in a world without rules?!
Yes, unusual, but deluded Michigan fans nitpicking!
Yes, nothing to see here, but consider all the things that might be here!
Yes, it's just sports and kinda funny, but I stand on higher principles!
November 16th, 2023 at 2:15 PM ^
Does the TV broadcast or all 22's typically show our big screens? A few of the shots in those pdf's have our big screen in them which seems odd.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:21 PM ^
Apparently the All 22s cut to the scoreboard between plays to show the time, down, and distance. These shots also picked up coaches' signals at the same time.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:23 PM ^
Based on the currently available evidence, Petiti seems to be the most incompetent to handle a big organization such as B1G. His only saving grace would be Michigan winning everything in CFP this year and substantially increasing B1G revenue in 2023.
His only job is to increase the league revenue, in any which way possible. He is not here to police one league team based on complaints from the others. He is the biggest moron to even think of jeopardizing B1Gs chance of getting its top two teams in the CFP.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:26 PM ^
When I was at Ross, the late, great distinguished university professor CK Prahalad had "The March of Folly" by the historian Barbara Tuchman on the reading list. Seemed like an odd choice for a business school course, but i dutifully read it and eventually understood the universality of the thesis:
"Folly is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives."
Too late to send this book to Tony P?
November 16th, 2023 at 3:08 PM ^
Wrap up the hardcover edition and send it at high velocity. Or drop a few cases from a great height. Or both.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:29 PM ^
Evidently Harbaugh is going to speak with presence of attorney during the Friday court hearing.
It will be interesting to see how the judge responds to Harbaugh's remarks, and how he ultimately rules the request.
The ESPN, BIG10, NY Times spin-merchants are no doubt already trying to pre-draft various story-lines for Friday night/Saturday morning editions and tv programs.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:37 PM ^
I am happy to see this but honestly, I cannot imagine being a lawyer and having to prep Harbaugh as a witness. The standard instruction of "answer only the question directly asked and say nothing else" is probably out the window.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:15 PM ^
I will be shocked if Coach Harbaugh testifies tomorrow. I know he would love to testify and clarify the rightness of his case. However, tomorrow's hearing as I understand it will be limited to technical legal issues about whether the Big Ten breached its contact by failing to follow its own policies and processes and whether any breach is sufficient to cause irreparable harm such that the court should issue an injunctive order. Any testimony by Coach Harbaugh would be far less important than documents, case law, and statutes that the judge will want to focus on. I do see some benefit to bringing him in to testify, but it would also open the doors to the BIG10's attorneys requesting a delay so they can bring in their key witnesses, with delay being the last thing we want.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:31 PM ^
Speaking of the anti-trust rulings against the NCAA, it seems that the Virginia AG will be working that angle on behalf of JMU to attempt to rescind the prohibition preventing JMU from making a bowl game this year.
IMO the two year postseason ban rule is outdated in that even the smaller conferences earn a much higher $$$$ amount than they used to, plus the NIL thing. Because of those things it’s far more likely that the smaller FBS schools making the jump from FCS have a much better chance of being able to compete at higher levels against the bigger schools than they used to. I think the hogwash the NCAA put out about ensuring rules compliance and program monitoring being a big part of making the jump is just that, hogwash. Especially when you consider that rules compliance goes down to the lowest levels of NCAA football and an fcs’ team’s coach just got suspended for smoking cigars with his players. In other words, a school’s Fb team that has demonstrated rules compliance at the lower level should get credit for that when they jump to the next level up and it shouldn’t even be an issue that bars postseason participation.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:32 PM ^
Any info on why Coach Clinkscale deleted his twitter all of a sudden? People on The Wolverine seem to think it has to do with the “scandal”.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:32 PM ^
In other news, the latest Stalions related OSU conjured conspiracy theory is somehow Coach Clinkscale deleting his Twitter implicates him in being involved with operation
November 16th, 2023 at 2:41 PM ^
I have not been a big fan of the big10 ever since we were robbed of a rose bowl appearance back in 1973. In 1973, that was a really big deal.
I can remember, as most of you can, the many horrendous officiating calls by big10 officials costing us games and championships over the years. And yes, I blame the big10.
Now this.
Someone caught Michigan driving over the speed limit, something nearly every driver on the road is guilty of at one time or another. Speeding for crying out loud. The big10 doesn't want to just write a speeding ticket or wait for the cops to investigate. No they have pronounced sentence and thrown Michigan in prison.
Like many have said, I don't know how this relationship with the big10 can survive as for me, I don't care if it does.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:51 PM ^
I lol at people saying we can’t and won’t leave the B1G !!! Why ? Is it forbidden? Should we stay thinking this won’t happen again ? Are you seriously thinking that we can’t make just as much money as we are now if not more as an independent? Like fuck seriously! Who gives a flying fuck about the B1G !!!
November 16th, 2023 at 2:48 PM ^
pettit is an idiot that much has been established… I think the court will verify this tomorrow !!! BET
November 16th, 2023 at 2:49 PM ^
Why haven't we organized a crowdsourced de-coding of OSU signals based on public domain video footage? Seems like something that motivated folks with a relevant coaching background could complete with relatively small effort. That might provide some input as to the value that Michigan didn't receive from any alleged in-person scouting and put a stake in this (gobsmacking stupid) idea that players' health was put at risk.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:51 PM ^
J Brady McCullough on the Pac-12 teams entering the league that are like "wait… what?"
It wasn't really about their reaction at all, which is unfortunate, because I'd like to know what they think.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:01 PM ^
I asked a handful Pac12 fans across the schools that are joining B1G if they still want to join B1G...not like they have any option but wanted to get a sense.
All of them said "hell no, what is this shit?"
November 16th, 2023 at 3:59 PM ^
They're all invited to our new Super Conference.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:09 PM ^
Read this, stress goes down. Go to Twitter and Steve Clinkscale has deleted his profile, stress higher than before. Why am I like this
November 16th, 2023 at 3:17 PM ^
So much of this was generated by bad actors and then signal boosted by bad faith ones and so it is funny to see them all scurry to the farther reaches of the internet to justify why this just hasn't turned into the scorched-earth result they had hoped for.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:18 PM ^
What is interesting about this is that I thought the college football world had largely come to the conclusion that the NCAA is incompetent, selective in its enforcement of its own rules, and renders punishments unevenly and nonsensically.
Now that Michigan is at the center of ... whatever this is ... people seem to think the NCAA is some paragon of an enforcement agency, completely consistent and full of integrity.
I don't get it.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:25 PM ^
Well shit. Just announced UM not fighting anymore. JH accepting the 3 game suspension.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
Can any MGoLawyers weigh in on whether Michigan would win an antitrust case? It seems (to a total non-lawyer) that antitrust involving another party (student/employees) is quite different than org members self-regulating...but I have no idea.
If Michigan does stand a reasonable chance in a court case, it seems an important prod to the NCAA to limit this and avoid yet another court case limiting NCAA powers?
November 16th, 2023 at 3:32 PM ^
Every time you post one of these, news breaks.
November 16th, 2023 at 4:11 PM ^
It's actually been consistent. At some point we need to stop making updates so that nothing else happens.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:40 PM ^
Needs an update, already.
Welp
November 16th, 2023 at 3:55 PM ^
BREAKING: UM and Harbaugh have accepted the punishment in exchange for a cease of the B1G investigation. Feels like a rollover, but that doesn’t jive with all the positioning to this point.
November 16th, 2023 at 4:03 PM ^
If this is true, now I'm pissed at our own University!
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