WaPo: Evidence that Michigan coaches/staff were involved

So basically, someone on Michigan’s staff  got paid by an outside investigate firm to reveal the scheme, and that firm was hired by someone with enough information to know that dirt would be found. This is wild. When these individuals are identified (and they will be), there will be legitimate concern for their safety. 

You.. can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You say.. “Steve.. how can I be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes?” First.. get a million dollars. Now.. you say, “Steve.. what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, ‘You.. have never paid taxes’?” Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: “I forgot!” How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don’t say “I forgot”? Let’s say you’re on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, “I forgot armed robbery was illegal.” Let’s suppose he says back to you, “You have committed a foul crime. you have stolen hundreds and thousands of dollars from people at random, and you say, ‘I forgot’?” Two simple words: Excuuuuuse me!!“

You know…with Pac 12 being murdered, and now all this (whatever the truths or falsehoods of all this is) …I may be close to being done with CFB , and the scary/sad part is I might be telling myself the truth with that statement. 
 

I’m on PTO rest of this week. I’m checking out 

god speed brothers and sisters 
 

People, stop worrying.  

There is NOTHING in NCAA rules that prohibits a football program from paying a 3rd party to record the games (and even the sidelines) of future opponents.

On a different thread I gave very lengthy explanations.

To keep it short.. NCAA rules ban in-person scouting by institution staff.  However, the rules do NOT ban compensating 3rd parties for recordings of future opponent games. 

In fact, before 2013 paying 3rd parties for recordings of future opponents' games was prohibited.  But in 2013 the NCAA repealed that prohibition.   

So...even if there are spreadsheets, who cares?  What Stalions was running does not violate any NCAA rule.  

The notion that someone hired an outside firm to dig up dirt on very mundane, gray-area signal deciphering operation is primarily a bad look on the NCAA, not Michigan. The precedent here is messy. Is every program going to start hiring PI firms to spy and hack other programs’ information? This vigilantism is ultimately a much bigger problem for the NCAA than anything Michigan has done. Sign stealing could be essentially nuked by NFL style helmet radios. But if programs are going to come at each other off the field, like what seems to be happening here, the NCAA looks like an impotent dunce. Imo that in itself is reason enough for the NCAA to sheepishly make this go away quietly.

This story just gets wilder and wilder.  What a gift to media people.

Michigan accused of "stealing signals".  Sounds bad!

"Stealing signals" isn't prohibited.  Oh.

But maybe got the signals in a prohibited way.  A staffer filmed games!  (Sounds stupid, since you can get most of that though 3rd parties, which is exactly what football programs do all the time.  But OK.)

Turns out the staffer didn't film the games.  He allegedly paid 3rd parties to do it.  That isn't prohibited by literal reading of the rule.  Also, all programs pay 3rd parties for video of opponent games, which they then analyze.

Although the NCAA hasn't finished looking into things, and Michigan is precluded from saying anything, all of this is leaked daily, apparently from the NCAA itself or might be a suspiciously well-informed source.  That is slimy as hell and is identical to smear tactics.

Also, it shows access to a suspicious amount of Michigan inside information -- seemingly prior to any substantial discovery by the NCAA.  How was that obtained?

There are allegations and rumors that a kook with Harbaugh derangement syndrome has maneuvered himself onto the NCAA infractions committee.

We find that someone (who might that be?) hired an investigation firm, which paid for that Michigan inside information, maybe including computer files.

Now we are into the realm of (a) Michigan being accused of a rules infraction (which seems not an infraction by literal reading of the rule) vs. (b) potential felonies by the outside firm and/or their sources.

All during a season where Michigan:
-- Has one of its best teams ever,
-- Looks so far like one of the leaders for the CFP,
-- Has a QB who has a shot at winning the Heisman,
-- And Harbaugh's contract (which was imminent 2 weeks ago) still is not done.

Wow.

We are in an espionage novel.  Or maybe something like the Illuminatus Trilogy.

Y'all saying "don't worry about the smoke" I hope you're right, but there is a lot of smoke. I'm gonna keep worrying. 

Is it possible that this third-party firm is hired by the NCAA to investigate M following the cheeseburger incident? The timing in August would suggest that would make sense, as well as reporting directly to NCAA.

I cannot believe Ryan day would be stupid enough to illegally hack into Michigan computers - that’s a federal crime.

If so, this would be another incredible self own by M, and further reason to never cooperate.

The NCAA leaks are almost in real time.  Ward needs to chew some NCAA ass today.  Maybe tell the NCAA that cooperation is suspended until they fix the leak problem.

if we really want to go all tin foil hat on this, here's my wild conspiracy.

WM has been the sticking point in getting Harbaugh the extension he deserved, and got pissed that Ono had to get involved.  Being petty, WM hired the outside firm and gave them access to dig up dirt that WM can use as justification to not extend Harbaugh and hire a football coach of his choosing. 

Not a fan of these  guys but taking in all the news about this and will assume this is fiction and not even clear this is illegal but...

Stugotz of Dan LeBatard and Stugotz fame has a Western Kentucky and Jack Harbaugh scouting story from the early 2000s at 4:36. You can make of it what you will https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HakaFje_UNM