A Lawyer's Perspective - Competing Considerations

What's salutary about XM's post is the way he underlines that we don't possess a lot of critical information with which to judge what has taken place.

In that pile, I'd place not knowing what evidence the B1G and NCAA had, a), and b) what might come of that knowledge.

For me, there's the lurking likelihood that the connections between Stalions and other members of the staff could mean additional exposure, sanctions, and vilification--whether earned or just pounded endlessly--by a shameless ESPN and its shitbird cronies in the press.

And--of course--we don't know the rationale for accepting the three-game suspension.

Or, unfortunately, whether it keeps us from worse to come.

If they dropped the U of M on its sword needlessly, as has happened before, then their mother darns socks in hell. If they dropped Jim on his sword without his acquiescence we may all suffer the fallout.

You want to wait for some of that information before you throw in with the lynch mob, in my opinion. Remembering that all of this is something of an own goal.

But there's still a pretty stirring outcome that one can imagine taking place here, and right now I'm living for that: Jim's involved during the week, and we have two winnable games ahead, a LOT to play for. After that, the landscape of the B1G championship and still more. 

It may be that salvaging that--salvaging those great things we have left to play for, avoiding endless additional disruption--was uppermost in the minds of some people deciding this during the last week. It could even be that we were told flatly to close it down or face far worse. There are a big enough range of forces that, I am convinced, we are going to be able to put the picture together in due course.

It was reading this post that helped me find my bearings.  I've been stunned and disillusioned, trying to make sense of it all.  It was betrayal, by the regents.  It reminded me of the scene in Braveheart when William Wallace realized he had been betrayed by Robert the Bruce.

If this is true and there isn't some other good reason for the capitulation, is there any way the spineless bastards can be held accountable?

It just hit me: There’s been speculation that some of the leaks are coming from in house. If the regents shut this down, would it be reasonable or unhinged to think that that’s where the leaks are coming from? If that’s true then this got even more absurd.

I'm wondering/ hopeful ( probably wrong ) since the NCAA and BIG were working together and reports the NCAA was fast tracking their investigation, if Michigan didn't hear from the NCAA ( good news ) sure they will keep the investigation open, just in case more leaks / info comes out but as far as now . Accept the BIG sportsmanship violation and we will back off. 

A combination of 1 and 3 would certainly make me feel better.

#3 didn’t happen or Michigan would have said something in its statement.  As it is, the statement is nothing more than an admission that everything said, insinuated, and reported is true.  It essentially agreed that Michigan cheated - guilty on all counts.  
 

By any reading of that statement, we support cheaters.  Whether that’s the players or coaches doesn’t matter.  
 

Whoever agreed to this fucked this group of players over.  They fucked the players explicitly, and the universities reputation passively.  

With respect to #3, I wish that what UM got was a BIG agreement to pursue dirt (supplied by UM or others) on other conference members, and if validated, use the UM settlement as precedent for dealing with the other schools. For example, if the BIG concluded that inter-school sharing of UM’s signals by OSU, Rutgers and Purdue also violated the sportsmanship policy, then Day, Schiano and Walters would be looking at a 3-game suspension. 

I dream!

OP is mistaken.  Harbaugh was a party to the litigation.

Yes, he was a party and the regents couldn’t dismiss his claims on his behalf. It’s possible he didn’t want to continue on its own after the regents dropped their claims, but Harbaugh had to agree to dismiss

I don't think it's necessary for the NCAA  to have something more for this to make sense.  I'm thinking the B1G was threatening to hit us with more if we didn't agree to the suspension.  You know..."sportsmanship and player safety."  

From everything we've read/heard, the B1G commissioner can do whatever he wants to us given he believes rules were broken by Stalion.

So maybe the Wisconsin chancellor's negotiation was for Michigan to take the suspension in order to avoid something worse...post season ban to include the B1G and CFP?

Of course, I doubt there's anything legal preventing the B1G from breaking the agreement and banning us from post season if 3rd base and the rest keep whining.

If the NCAA truly does have info that it went higher than Stalions, the precedent for punishment has already been set - half a game suspension for the assistant coach from Baylor who went in person to scout opponents' game. He didn't send an analyst, he went himself. And received a half-game suspension. The head coach didn't get suspended for 3 games. The head coach didn't get suspended at all. If there's no evidence that Harbaugh knew anything, then nothing should have happened to him.

We happily jumped off the ramp like a soft, cuddly bunny.

Malone: You said you wanted to know how to get Pettiti. Do you really want to get him? You see what l'm saying? What are you prepared to do?

Michigan: Everything within the law.

Malone: And then what are you prepared to do? If you open the ball on these people, Michigan, you must be prepared to go all the way. Because they won't give up the fight until one of you is gone.

Michigan: l want to get Pettti. l don't know how.

Malone: Here's how you get Pettiti: he makes an accusation, you file a lawsuit. He suspends your coach, you send your binders to the media! That's the Chicago way! And that's how you get Pettiti.

Now, do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that?

Michigan: Nah, on second thought, we don't really have any binders. I'm out. Bye.

By your logic, UM already thought Harbaugh is a liar because they suspended him earlier in the year, correct?

OP’s point is that the results of this process are not linear, so we need more than two points to connect the dots.

I would have proceeded with the hearing. You can’t cry about due process and then back away the day before the hearing. Even if it seemed likely that the judge wouldn’t give the TRO, they wouldn’t give it based on Michigan overreaching on procedural arguments, not based on any judgment on the evidence presented. I’d take that loss if I was a Regent, Ono, Warde or Harbaugh. It doesn’t deny that Connor Stalions cheated - who Michigan did punish - and doesn’t make Michigan look like cowards and cheaters. If it was known with certainty that the judge wasn’t going to engage in this silliness, then just move the expense from legal services to marketing and at least stay consistent that your goal was due process all along.

There are too many hysterical people blinded by rage on this site right now. I dont know how many more times I need to state this but the pending court case had absolutely NOTHING to do with the alleged infractions and dropping the case doesn't change that.

It was solely about did the Big Ten exceed their authority/by-laws to suspend Harbaugh before the investigation was complete. We did not admit to anything. 

Even if we won the TRO, that would mean nothing as it relates to the underlying violations. And if you think even winning the TRO would change public opinion and reporting, you are crazy. The public and reporters have already decided and absolutely zero will change their mind. That haters will either believe we cheated and we get punished or we cheated and we got away with it.

There are many reasons why we dropped the case - maybe it was telegraphed we wouldn't get the TRO granted, maybe there was no way it would be decided in advance of the OSU game which would make fighting it worthless and just keep it on the front page, maybe there is more shit to be discovered and we decided to take our punishment now and worry about everything else in a year or two.

No one knows but acting like this means anything beyond the strict bounds of did the Big Ten violate their bylaws couldn't be further from the truth

This is the attitude of those who inevitably become perpetual victims 

This is just a lot of words of baseless speculation on the part of XM. He's pissed off and twisting the facts to suit his narrative.