A Lawyer's Perspective - Competing Considerations
Mates,
Good Morning. Not going to make this a diary (or a dairy), but wanted to put a couple of things out there before the day gets going. We are all ticked off about how this suddenly ended with seemingly the worst possible outcome, and voluntarily. I also am fond of a saying learned many years ago, "You know what you know, but you don't know what you don't know". What we don't know might be tougher to figure out but lets see what we do know or at least believe.
First, from my review of the pleadings and knowledge of these types of procedures, we were in a very good place to win this morning. Having handled a number of these types of procedures and having tried hundreds of cases this was a hearing we wanted to have, and have it with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.
Second, the surrender yesterday did nothing for us as far as we know*. What difference is there in a headline from "Michigan Loses Hearing. Suspension Stands. News at 11" from "Michigan Folds Tents. Admits Cheaters and Best"? In other words, we gained nothing from surrender and lost a very, very good shot at a win. Unbelievably weak, sniveling, pathetic 'deal'. You have got to be kidding all of us.
Weigh those against two more considerations. One was mentioned by MgoHillbilly when he rightly pointed out last night that there can be cases where, for instance in a criminal matter, the client's family is all gung-ho about going to trial and outraged by a plea that the client is offered but they don't have the big picture and don't know or appreciate some very critical facts. Also, sometimes the price of failure is catastrophic and simply not worth wagering in the face of a known, final resolution. We can all talk very bravely until it's our neck on the line looking at the abyss.
And then you get to our KFATA (Known Friend and Trusted Agent) Craig Ross who, with impeccable sources, says that the Board of Regents went around their counsel, local counsel, and somehow brokered the worst possible deal. It is my further understanding that Harbaugh did not agree to this. Remember too, he was technically not a named party to this litigation (AFAIK). And we all shake our heads and mutter curse words. I will tell you that clients do sometimes make crazy decisions and destroy their own cases. It happens.
So what do we do, where are we in all of this? A couple of thoughts. First, I think we simply have to figure that there are some significant things we simply don't know*. That is a hard one to fathom since we know the lawyers closest to the controversy were absolutely ready to rumble this morning but there has to be some rational, even if weak, reason for what happened. And second, I think you simply have to put this into the category of things you care about, maybe even care too much about, but cannot do anything about. In other words, steel up your spine, drink some whole milk, have some vitamin steak and keep marching to the Victors.
And no matter what, remember Coach Moore's awesome words after the PSU game. We have the best players, the best alumni and the best university in the world. We also have the best coach. Support our players and our team and don't waste too much time trying to analyze something that can't be changed by any of us.
Have a great Friday. It is still football season and we are about to make the terps road kill.
Go Blue!
XM
November 17th, 2023 at 8:00 AM ^
Let me ask a question and sort of play devil's advocate....
We are submitting easily that 'oh well worst case is they just lose the case'. What if that wasn't the worst case? I ask because that is the rumblings starting to trickle out. What if it was "if you fight and lose, pack your jock straps because we are keeping him out the whole season".
I have 100% confidence the other coaches in the BIG want him out all year. Period. It's not a hard for me to envision they weighed this out...
- we do have exposure and are going to suffer consequences
- we have a 50/50 shot of winning
- if we lose...it could get really bad and they could go for the whole season (of course, the season could just be over after next week).
- At least the team gets Harbaugh all week and he has full faith in SM
- Harbaugh will have been out 6 games this year and it's a good argument to make to the NCAA that it should be "time served, case closed".
My question/thought is, were the above weighed out and it just seemed that having Harbaugh all but about 15 total hours over three weeks with the agreement the BIG is done was a good deal?
Lastly, from a practical day to day coaching standpoint and player interaction, there is something nice about finality here. You know exactly what you must do, and can move forward.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:01 AM ^
Something happened. Michigan didn't just roll over for the sake of rolling over. There are too many dumbfounded observers out there that can't explain what happened. I believe that when it's all done and said and when everything does finally come out that we will find out that people under Jim Harbaugh did him a grave disservice. Notice I said people. This was not a one man show. It may have been conceived by Stallions but others knew what he was doing. Harbaugh fell on the sword for these others whether it was to save some careers or to try and salvage the season for his players. Who knows if that will be enough to stop the bleeding. The thing that pisses you off more than anything is that this team and these guys didn't need some weak ass advantage like this. It is a very stupid rule and hopefully as some have claimed it will be exposed for how often it was being broken or worked around. Also hopefully we will beat the hell out of OSU for driving this investigation and trying to act like they are the high and mighty example of high morals.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:02 AM ^
Im ok with failure, but UM didn't even try
November 17th, 2023 at 8:06 AM ^
If a deal was made, why couldn't it involve one game less. Every sport does this.... One game less and we wouldn't care. Missing the OSU game is gonna hurt
November 17th, 2023 at 8:09 AM ^
Lets throw the Board of Reagents out.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:13 AM ^
In just a day we've gone from being the most unified Michigan fan base in a long, long time, to division and bickering, that's pretty sad.
After having slept on it, I think the most likely factor leading to this decision was that our attorneys, when asked for a frank assessment of our chances, gave us less than a 50 percent chance of prevailing, maybe substantially less.
It also wasn't clear to me that Jim was going to be allowed to testify at the hearing, and/or that our attorneys wanted him too.
We can win the next two, but those who think it won't make any difference- all I can say is that I hope you're right. I would caution people though that this is a different dynamic than the PSU game. How many teams in sports history have we seen a team rally around a back-up QB, in the immediate short term and win, but then fall back in the next few weeks? Jim is our emotional leader and while we have other leaders, I absolutely believe that we will miss him on the sidelines.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:14 AM ^
Maybe there are non -public parts of the deal, too, such as:
1) Lifetime free coffee at Java World for the regents.
2) The B1G will allow now holding to be called when our O-Line is held
3) No further NCAA peeking into the possible Stalions CMU appearance. The silence on this matter for the past week makes me wonder if Stalions was moonlighting as a sign-stealing guru for hire. Maybe such a practice is more widespread? It would be in everyone’s interest to stop looking into that.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:17 AM ^
Couple items,
1. I’m not so sure what Stallions did was against NCAA rules as written. He used a 3rd party to advance scout. Those third parties were not associated with the university nor funded by the University. NCAA does not define who would be an “advanced scout” other than someone associated with the University.
Purdue last year prior to the Championship game used OSU and Rutgers staff to advance scout Michigan. OSU and Rutgers staff are paid by their respective Universities. That would be advanced scouting.
2. Everyone has everyone’s signals - FACT. Take a look at a sideline in any college football game, 2 different dummy signalers for offense/defense. Analysts probably have years, upon years of data showing what signs different Defensive Coordinators/Offensive Coordinators call (i.e. Marylands O coordinator today is Rutgers O coordinator tomorrow, no way Don Brown was changing his signals toward the end of his 100+ year coaching career, everyone knew his signals)
How in the world would Coaches/staff from a university passing along signals/other opponent specific info to other schools from their scouting of a school they played not make them advanced scouts for the schools they passed the info along to?
3. 1000% Pettiti threatened to add more sanctions (Probably Michigan not able to play in the Big Ten CG, should they make it) if TRO went through and Harbaugh got to coach. The guy is an ambulance chasing d-bag who put himself in a bad spot and needed to win at all costs.
4. Pettiti clearly does not have the temperament or experience to be a college conference commissioner. I’m sure he’s a (mediocre) lawyer, but he’s not a college commissioner. He’s a shoot first ask questions later type of guy. Win at all costs. Not a level headed we need to let all info come out due process kind of guy. The kind of guy you need as a commissioner, because that is part of his job to be the voice of reason when a mob forms.
5. Michigan needs to leave the Big Ten. Immediately, as soon as they can. This is a trust issue now. Michigan can not trust the Big Ten Commissioner to do the right thing (nor other school ADs to speak out against mob rule). Leave, independent, ACC, SEC does not matter. Michigan may initially lose more games, but they will build through that and be dominant. You will also know the commissioner has your back.
6. Michigan does not need OSU or MSU for a rivalry. The reverse is not true, Michigan is the White collar boss OSU and MSU fans can’t punch in the face at work but their football team every couple years maybe can.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:21 AM ^
My biggest fear from all of this… Jim feels betrayed, contract extension will never be signed and he’s coaching the Bears next season.
I would have rather lost on the battlefield than survive to fight another day, but I’ve also made several career limiting moves in my life due to pure stubbornness.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:27 AM ^
We don't know what we don't know.
Rage, betrayal, confusion, more rage.... Felt by us, you know. As much as 'We' feel like this is our loss, it isn't. We don't have moral high ground here as we did break rules. Our argument is that the punishment was too swift, too draconian, and not fair. It was all of those things, but this level of whining is beneath who we think we are. Find some steel for the spine, Shut up and glare at whoever brings this up like it is just one more nuisance, immaterial, like MSU.
Coach Harbaugh, the team, and football staff are and have been appreciated and Coach specifically will be rewarded with the best contract in the conference. Vindication will be ultimate when he takes the trophy from the little tyrant.
I know this is unsatisfying to many, but we don't know how much energy, focus, and time the legal fight is diverting from "Just win the damn game."
November 17th, 2023 at 9:02 AM ^
Agree, focus should be to win remaining games.
However, still not seeing logically how Stallions hiring people to go to games and advance scout is any different from OSU/Rutgers staff sending Purdue Michigan’s Offensive and Defensive signals.
This went from being a joke to the worst thing ever in the history of college sports, to player safety, to anyone who knew about anything is guilty. You have to hold the NCAA and Big Ten to their own rules, if you don’t they have repeatedly shown they will just make whatever they want up.
Major questions like;
What constitutes an advanced scout? Someone paid by the university? Someone directly employed by the university?
How are university staff or coaches not acting as advanced scouts for other teams when they send entire Offensive and Defensive signals of a team to the teams opponent?
Many of these need to be answered logically from what the NCAA has written in their rules and not hand waved away by Big Ten and NCAA.
I think when this plays out the NCAA will (by their own written rules) have a lot less to charge on than what has been hyped up.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:42 AM ^
There are facts in this case not known by the general public. For confidentiality reasons we’ll likely never know.
My best guess is that we just took the L to make it go away.
If we had won today, the B1G would have come after us with everything they had and then some.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:46 AM ^
Sorry, but the “Regents did it” narrative doesn’t make sense. They are a public body that is legally required to act through public meetings. They can go into closed session to meet with counsel to discuss litigation. But, they cannot just meet in secret and settle a case. So, either they completely violated the Open Meetings Act or this narrative is false. If it’s false, we need to ask who is pushing this story that saves Warde and Santa from blame.
I do buy that Harbaugh didn’t sign off on this. We will know for certain in about two months when/if he signs with an NFL team or doesn’t. Until then, it’s just speculation on our parts.
In any event, we each need to come to terms with how we feel about this. For me, I honestly dont know. I love this team and program. Have for 40 plus years. But colllege football in general, and Michigan football in particular, aren’t what I feel in love with any more. It might be time for me to leave. I just don’t know.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:07 AM ^
I have no idea where this "the Regents settled" is coming from other than someone saying Craig Ross said it. Which I'm sure Craig knows some people but like you said, this is public litigation involving UM and not something you just sign off on without other key players being involved.
Also, I don't know where XM got the idea Harbaugh isn't named in this lawsuit; he and Michigan are the two named parties, so again he'd have to sign off on it being dismissed.
I do think this increases the chances of Harbaugh leaving, but the far more likely reason is the fact the NCAA and the B1G have now suspended him for half the season on what are largely bullshit excuses. UM can't fix that, and at some point a guy is going to look at a hostile work environment and say he can make more money with less annoyance in the better league and bolt. I'm sure he's not crazy about UM not letting him pontificate at a hearing but if they tell him "you're probably going to lose and they're going to keep coming after you, or you walk away from this fight and then are free from annoyance for years" he may take the latter.
This whole situation highlights how useless leagues really are, and how UM subsidizing 10-11 teams in the league with TV revenue for years was a waste of time and money. Michigan doesn't need Minnesota or Rutgers to make money and be successful, and so if they have an opportunity to leave in the future they will. We've seen it with Texas, OU, USC, and UCLA, and we'll see it some more. The Big 10 makes money because people want to see UM and OSU, and my guess is that calculus will become clearer going forward.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:37 AM ^
You make a good point about Harbaugh being a named party. He, or his lawyers, would have “signed” the papers. But that is not the same thing as “signing off on the deal,” especially once the university dropped out. You can sign something you hate.
Maybe people are playing word games and saying he sign off just because he (or his lawyers) signed the settlement.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:47 AM ^
The hardest part is not knowing. Because when we don't know something, we tend to create our own narratives to fill in the holes to give us a sense of certainty. That has not served us well, and is not serving us well. We have to wait for the answers -- and we may not get all of them. The actions of Harbaugh after the season will tell us a lot. Someone willing to speak on the record would be helpful, though I'm not holding my breath for that. I know everyone wanted to win in court, but winning the Game is a much better prize.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:49 AM ^
XM,
Appreciate your insights. Enjoyed your referenced saying. Please let me offer the following:
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." Mark Twain
"Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear." Edgar Allan Poe
" The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected." Robert Frost
November 17th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
The problem for me is, if what Craig Ross said is true, then we won't have the "best coach" after this season. If the board of regents circumvented Harbaughs desire to make a stand against the big ten and the NCAA, I don't see any way he stays here after the season. I know for damn sure I wouldn't if I were in his shoes. Now I'm just hoping that Craig Ross is mistaken and that for whatever reason, Jim came up with the idea (maybe he saw it as a distraction to the team) on his own and told his team to accept the suspension and lets move on.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
Sounds like an age learned lesson. I concur.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:54 AM ^
My concern at this point is the impact this sudden capitulation has on the players.
Up until yesterday, the various parties involved—coaches, AD, President, and Regents—were seemingly united in their conviction that not only was the BIG being manifestly unfair but that the basic inference that we've only been winning over the past two seasons was because we were cheating was horseshit. The players could all feel like U-M's leadership had their backs.
Now they know that significant portions of that "leadership" was just flimsy artifice for public consumption. That has to be deflating.
I now believe that the game against Maryland is going to be much closer than we want, and I'm no longer optimistic that we're going to beat OSU.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:55 AM ^
IF this is all true, and he really didn't know about any of this, I fail to see how any self-respecting person such as Harbaugh can continue to work for the University. He - and us (team, University, alumni, fans) - will be branded as cheaters for years - if not forever. Harbaugh may have agreed after this was brokered to say he agrees with this to keep his players focused and give them a chance to win a national championship, but he has to be looking for the first exit ramp after this season. He already has generational wealth, so a big contract doesn't really fix this potential issue.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:56 AM ^
I have a hard time believing Michigan was in a great spot to win today with the TRO. The judge didn't consider their claims ex parte and instead punted it for a week later, right up against another game. He could easily have delayed the ruling until Monday or Tuesday, at which point UM is 2-0 without him and you're arguing even more about irreparable harm from a tough spot. I think UM's arguments were strong but if the judge isn't going to rule for you and you're eight days from it being moot then you may not like your chances. Losing in court isn't great for anyone involved, even if we here seem to think that doing so means more.
I assume UM asked that the suspension be brought down to 2 games, the B1G balked but said they'd concede no more investigation or future punishments (which they absolutely could have tried to do going forward - that shitty letter from Petitti said they reserve the right to keep going) on Harbaugh, and that's the best you're going to get.
People act like UM rolled over here but instead of taking the punishment last weekend they filed a fucking TRO against the conference they've been a member with for a century, publicly called them out repeatedly, and had the judge ruled for them on last Friday night they'd have won a suit barring the conference from imposing a punishment on them. That's absolutely fighting back against someone, but when you know you're going to lose there is logic in licking your wounds and living to fight another day. It's not the outcome I wanted necessarily or is "justice" but for all the "some guys just are in places because they're in places" I don't think the denizens on a UM message board are any better at solving these types of situations.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:57 AM ^
The whole concept of "maybe there is more evidence implicating a staffer" is losing sight of the fact that this is all nonsense. No football coaches actually believe what Connor Stalions did was any more of an advantage than having real staffers break down signals via All22 vid. Certainly none think that what Conor Stalions did was worse than OSU and Rutgers sending the signal breakdowns to Purdue. No actual coaches think this was cheating
This whole thing was just a con that was pulled on the media to claim this was some massive cheating scandal, knowing causal sports fans would fall for it. The NCAA itself said that the rule was basically pointless with current technology. So who gives a shit if other staffers knew? What are we talking about here? Kids with iphones in stands? And we are accepting 3 game suspensions against our toughest opponents in the best season in most of our lifetimes?
GTFOOH
November 17th, 2023 at 9:10 AM ^
... losing *sight*...
November 17th, 2023 at 9:13 AM ^
The biggest failure here was letting the media frame this story for 3+ weeks without putting out ANYTHING. Someone should have been flooding the space with explanations about the NCAA wanting to scrap the rule, how its meaningless with todays technology, etc. Instead they stayed silent and let it fester and let the freaks on the opponent message boards dictate the narrative. They smelled blood and then the opponent coaches (Purdue, Neb, etc) even piled on with disingenuous bullshit.
Massive failure by our PR machine
November 17th, 2023 at 9:26 AM ^
Yup yup yup
This is why I said Michigan taking the wrong stance on this from the get go. Frankly who gives a shit if Harbaugh master minded the entire operation. The sensationalism of the Stallions story as fascinating as it may be has no baring on the degree of violation or rule broken.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:35 AM ^
And in all seriousness screw FOX too. ESPN is clearly going after us because they lost the big10 rights. They are just using OSU’s intel as there pawn for the time being. Use all there force to knock the crown jewel off the board. They will turn on OSU in due time.
But screw FOX they are no different. They are scantly protecting us because we are there product and brand. They are covering up the OSU/Rutgers/ Purdue scandal because that’s there brand and product. ESPN is playing chess and ignoring it to focus on Michigan and that’s allowing FOX to ignore and bury the scandal and they are taking the bait.
Im a huge fan of Klatt as a broadcaster and analyst for what it’s worth but the situation here is what it is
November 17th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
And props to Wetzel for seemingly being the only one in the media to connect the dots and come out and say it as it is. It’s the same F’N thing and if one’s guilty they’re all guilty.
It’s funny I would almost venture to say he is universally considered the most respected investigative journalist in the field yet the major outlets now only selective reference his reporting when it aligns with there narrative.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:32 AM ^
Yep. Also, get out of the Big Ten now and nuke it from space, it’s the only way to be sure.
November 17th, 2023 at 11:15 AM ^
You are missing the point. It doesn't matter what you think or any of us think on just how stupid this rule is and what little advantage this gave us. What matters is assistant coaches knowingly breaking the rule no matter how dumb it was.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:00 AM ^
Well, I certainly hope that there is something we don’t know that concerned the Board, if in fact the BOT made this decision. Because the chances of winning the TRO seemed very good to me (I have handled many over the years). I doubt we will ever have anything more than speculation about why this happened, and the only sane approach now is to file it away and focus on winning the next five games. But especially the second of those five.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:15 AM ^
Barring new info. Which I think that would have leaked by now if there was some. This was Pettiti telling Michigan, sure roll the dice and win the TRO. We will then ban the University from the BTCG (because remember this was a sanction against the University not Harbaugh) and we will keep digging until we find something else, maybe not even related.
Broader question is why would you stay in the conference at this point? I have never seen a Conference go after one of their own teams (without a completed NCAA investigation and process) the way Big Ten has gone after Michigan for this silliness.
November 17th, 2023 at 11:05 AM ^
The wildcard out there is Stallions. Does anybody really believe the guy just went away quietly taking all of his secrets with him, especially the way he has been dragged through the mud. This guy is the one person who could cause major issues for the program if he decides to seek a big settlement out of the university and is denied. If he has lawyered up and those lawyers approached Michigan and filled them in on what they know that could have changed some minds in a hurry on how to proceed.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:02 AM ^
The regents caving seems like a logical explanation, one that has a source backing it up, and an absolutely infuriating resolution.
Both for the present and the future.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:11 AM ^
The only source I see on the caving is Craig Ross (via some other user), and so maybe that's true but it seems weird that a public body of multiple people would do so and he'd the the one to know. It also ignores the fact Harbaugh is listed on the TRO so he'd have to agree as well, and so it's not like they can have him settle the case without his agreement as it relates to the actual litigation.
I'm sure there were discussions, and maybe the lawyers told them they were unlikely to win and negotiations went on behind closed doors, but sometimes you just lose a situation and it sucks and it doesn't mean anything more than that.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:03 AM ^
XM, thanks for this.
I hear the pain and anger in everyone’s posts. I feel similar. But I think if there was ever a time to support this university and football team, it’s now. Morale universally may be down, our enemies are loving this, throwing their rocks and stabbing us when we are already bleeding. So the university needs us more not than ever. We can’t join the low lifes taking their shots; we need to be there for this team and university. Family doesn’t run away at tough times, they band together. And this is family.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:03 AM ^
Jordan Acker you bitch get in here and explain yourself
November 17th, 2023 at 9:10 AM ^
The scenario that would mitigate things for me is alluded to in the OP. If the judge were reasonably likely to not grant emergency relief and the B1G was threatening to escalate, Michigan might have faced a ruined season with no chance to prevail in court in a timeframe that matters. If there was even just a 5% chance that today’s hearing would have made things worse for Michigan, then maybe this makes sense. I can see not gambling with the player’s fate.
Even under that assumption, it better be a case of losing the battle to win the war. Once this season is over, Pettit should be gone and pounds of flesh extracted from all who instigated and perpetuated this farce. That and/or leave the B1G will be what it takes for me to have any support for whoever made the decision to capitulate.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:16 AM ^
Right. If the threat of escalation and use of a purposely vague rule with no power limitation was what forced us to cave, then there is no option other than to leave the BigTen. They would have proved that they can do anything they want to us and we can do nothing about it.
November 17th, 2023 at 5:46 PM ^
I concur. Lose this battle, and then win war by winning the National Championship and taking our TV ratings elsewhere for 2024 and beyond.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:12 AM ^
The pretty obvious (to me) answer is that some number of coaches were aware that something was up with Stalions. To what extent, we may never know, but eating the suspension quiets that story considerably.
That said, I would not be surprised if a few coaches are asked to leave the program over this.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:20 AM ^
I do not know a lot about the B1G discipline process but could the B1G have been threatening to change the suspension from game days to a more compete suspension including all practices and team events? If Michigan lost the motion for the TRO, depending on the court's rationale, maybe we open ourselves up to an even more severe penalty.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:41 AM ^
Yes, of course they did. Pettti got himself painted into a corner. He is a win at all costs type of d-bag. So he and the Big Ten absolutely would have threatened to suspend the team from say a BTCG game if they make it, Harbaugh from practices and keep looking for anything (maybe not even related) should he TRO go through.
Pettiti does not have the temperament required to be a college commissioner. MLB is completely different from college athletics.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:39 AM ^
Maybe the Regents were pissed that Coach Moore left them out of his postgame speech last weekend?
November 17th, 2023 at 9:42 AM ^
I'm four hours late, so this will get buried, but I'll push back on three points.
First, you are simply wrong about Harbaugh not being a named plaintiff. He was, so he had to agree to this. Michigan certainly could have pressured him to sign off, but Harbaugh had to agree and could have fought on alone if he really wanted to.
Second, I disagree strongly that we were likely to win today. TROs/PIs are not easy to get. There are four prongs/factors judges consider when deciding to grant one, so you can have a strong case and still be unlikely to get one. We'll never know what the judge thought about the case, but it's completely plausible that the judge was skeptical about the "irreparable harm" prong or even the "likelihood of success on the merits" prong. This was about our legal claims -- the mere "unfairness" of the Big Ten's actions was never a cognizable claim; we had to allege breach of contract based on the bylaws. They are certainly parts of the bylaws I believe the Big Ten broke, but the Sportsmanship Policy is facially broad. This was never a slam dunk. I know us MGoLawyers have debated this over the past week, but I stand by my contention that the judge punting on the TRO was a very bad sign for us. Declining to rule on the TRO before the alleged irreparable harm occurred suggested he simply didn't think it was that serious.
Third, I'm not sure it's fair to say we got "nothing" from withdrawing. Procedurally, it does look like we voluntarily dismissed our claim, as opposed to entering into an enforceable settlement agreement. But Michigan's own statement says the Big Ten agreed to close its investigation, and pretty credible journalists have reported that means the Big Ten is done with levying punishments in season. If we beat OSU, we will continue on to Indy and the CFP with Jim on the sidelines. It is completely plausible the Big Ten was threatening additional punishment if we lost on the TRO. And then we would have been really fucked.
We don't know yet why we backed down. But it would be completely irrational to reverse course if nothing had changed, and whether you like the Regents or not, they are not irrational. Something happened -- perhaps new evidence, perhaps a tip off that they were going to lose the TRO, perhaps a threat from the Big Ten to levy additional punishments -- and it changed the calculus. Just have patience and wait for the facts to come up. We are all rightfully outraged by the Big Ten punishing Harbaugh without waiting for the full facts. We should extend the same reasoning to the Regents before declaring them incompetent cowards on the basis of message board rumors.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:59 AM ^
This is a reasonable take. If we can win the next two games, it will go down as a smart move. If we were about to lose the TRO, it will go down as a smart move. And in the process, they probably saved the university a million bucks in legal fees. Like everything else the university does, they completely botched the PR side of things, but the move itself makes sense if you remove the emotion and just analyze the probabilities.
November 17th, 2023 at 9:51 AM ^
Than you for your thoughtful post XM. I think one thing that concerns me if Jim truly didn’t agree to this would be that he feels he’s not fully supported. I mean, Santa and Warde seem to have put on the full court press of support but this seems like (if I’m following your points correctly) the regents capitulated to stop the negative news towards Michigan or for whatever reason they felt and seems to have blindsided the entire Michigan network notwithstanding the board. Does this take the contract situation further back and is the team as galvanized with the same “Bet” mentality that it had one week ago? Personally, seems like a little wind has been taken out of the sails. Not concerned too much about the Maryland game, although trap games can be tricky. But next week is going to require the staff, players, team and especially the head coach to be prepared for any and all that those from the team from the smelliest city in the whole land will bring. Will we be prepared? I for one am cautiously hopeful. Go Blue Forever!
November 17th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
The ncaa investigation is still ongoing? Maybe the big (osu) is happy with Harbaugh sidelined for the game this year, but what we don't know will still be investigated.
November 17th, 2023 at 10:07 AM ^
I am unsure how this post is supposed to instill confidence in us. If what we don't know is why Michigan and Jim Harbaugh accepted what appears to be an unjust punishment then what we don't know can't possibly be good.
As far as I am concerned no one should be punished for simply not being liked, only for violating rules. There has been some questions as to whether Jim can be punished due to a new NCAA provision that holds head coaches responsible for the actions of their staff. If this is the issue here and Jim is taking his punishment in advance then so be it. However, this was done in such a manner to create the most harm for the current Michigan football team but has not been the case of punishment for other programs or Universities.
November 17th, 2023 at 10:57 AM ^
First? XM: thanks for the post, the insights, and cautions expressed.
Second? This is a scenario and obviously unsupervised occurence that various senior parties judged to be "not worth going to the mattreses" over.
We win the stay and Coach coaches two more games, only to have to deal with the B1G scheiss at some point in the future. We are not granted the stay and Coach sits out the two games. And we're still in a fight with the B1G.
This is a standard "settlement out of court" that just ends the distractions, the noise, the angst-of-the-unknown permanently (my understanding). Coach let a puppy (CS) piddle on the floor because his staff didn't have a puppy controller, so Coach gets sidelined as a punishment. He's the team CEO, he takes the hit.
I'm glad this bullshit is over. The outcome is not to my liking - repeat: Coach needs a puppy master on his staff so he can just "Be Mr. Football".
Bottom line? I think it's "for the best". Let it go, learn from it, move on.