anderson scandal

Harbaugh in the wind update. The Athletic clears some things up about what's going on in Harbaugh's head:

…sources pushed back on the theory that Michigan’s handling of NIL will be a major factor in Harbaugh’s NFL decision.

“Everybody’s got this so unbelievably wrong,” one source said, pointing to Cade McNamara, Blake Corum, J.J. McCarthy, Aidan Hutchinson and other Michigan stars who landed lucrative NIL deals, along with an arrangement that allows players to profit from the sale of officially licensed jerseys.

However:

Whether it’s relaxing restrictions on the use of school trademarks or providing additional NIL infrastructure, there’s a sense that Michigan can do more to maximize its NIL potential.

Harbaugh is Harbaugh so he may indeed flit off to the NFL at a whim but it doesn't sound like it'll be because he feels like he can't compete at a high level. Michigan had the misfortune to run up against a generational Georgia team without the kind of flamethrower at QB you need to overcome that kind of opponent, but that's more an accident of timing than fate.

Settlement reached. The Dr. Anderson number:

Michigan has reached a $490 million settlement with more than 1,000 survivors of sexual abuse by former team doctor Robert Anderson. Parker Stinar, an attorney representing Anderson survivors, said the two sides reached an agreement at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday.

I have no opinion on whether this is the correct number. So much of the sturm und drang around this was plaintiffs lawyers saying whatever to make the number go up and university officials saying nothing because they weren't allowed to. The number does not matter. What matters is how the university handled it once it was brought to light—pretty well, it seems, no John Englers—and how ruthlessly they ejected Mark Schlissel when his malfeasance came to light. I've seen a lot of questions about why they released the massively embarrassing emails, and I sincerely hope the answer was "fuck around and find out." No quarter for people high up in the university's governance who can't follow basic protocols about decency.

[After THE JUMP: PSU gets aggressive with ticket holders]

Things discussed before the show:

• Seth gets on early and Sam talks about Walter Nolen. Seth puts all this film into an If it Happens folder.
  
• Michigan has to blow the South out of the water in NIL to compete with the South.

Anderson thing discussed:

• Good to hear the voices of the survivors.
• Wilmer-Hale report is so damning it’s hard to believe there needs to be more.
• Taking this to the Attorney General’s office sounds like a waste of time and a PR trap because we’re at the point where the plaintiffs and the university have to decide on a number, which is not what we’re really interested in.
• We want to focus on how we change the structures of power at the university so that we don’t have these institutional failures again.

Other things discussed:

• Daylen Baldwin scout: more Darboh but Fast or Junior Hemingway but not as leapy than Nico Collins or Devin Funchess, blocking really sticks out on film, Michigan needed another Cornelius Johnson since everybody else on the roster is #SpeedinSpace.
• Hoops recruiting: Do you take a Dug in hand or wait on a situation where two 5-stars deciding a month later are both down to UNC or Michigan? Hmmm.
• Bigs recruiting: we’re not even going to consider Jalen Duren, and Lively for whatever reason is trending away, but if Donovan Clingan chooses hometown UConn over being Hunter Dickinson 2.0 he didn’t decide based on fit.
• NIL: Recruits should use the Charity Bowl as the most scientific understanding of how each school’s fanbases will spend money once they can aim their respective money cannons at recruits, though there’s a little bit of nuance, e.g. you probably won’t make more at Slippery Rock than 13 Big Ten schools.

[Hit the JUMP for the player, and video and stuff]

Things discussed:

• New allegations from Matt Schembechler that significantly reframe the story reported in the WilmerHale Report.
• Doesn’t change what’s in the report, and doesn’t change the fact that as Michigan fans we want to see Michigan continue to deal with sexual assault cases that continued at the university long after Anderson. Things in the provost’s personnel report didn’t trigger anything for years.
• Seth: disappointed with Harbaugh’s response.
• NIL: NCAA has been kiting, nobody will be ready by July, and that’s the point: the states who recently passed laws to go into effect immediately are just doing a recruiting. Gonna be the Wild West for a time.
• Expanding the playoffs: it’s going to happen, just got to hash out the number. 12 sounds reasonable. Please put them on campuses.
• Juwan Howard’s name in NBA jobs: he’s going to coach his sons, but we get that the NBA is the pinnacle. Interesting that Howard said “that’s in the past” when someone mentioned it to him. It won’t be about the money if/when it happens; it’ll be about “How good am I?”
• Point guard recruiting: we like Seth, since he could play two years at least and could play the two when Eli moves on. Bradley is a much better floor general—Sam says Bradley might stick around for a couple of years but we don’t buy he’s going to stay when he gets a lottery ranking. McDaniel is small, but if it’s getting to the point where Michigan needs to finish the class, okay, pull a Zavier Simpson.

[Hit the JUMP for the player, and video and stuff]