Michigan's Football Scandal: Signs Stolen, What Next?
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 Now, Ben, before we get to Michigan and Penn State here
00:06 and break it down, Michigan is in the limelight.
00:09 Why?
00:10 They're a really good football team.
00:11 They're the number one team for me right now,
00:13 technically, in college football,
00:14 even though I haven't played anybody yet,
00:16 to probably take down the national championship.
00:18 But each and every day, I find myself tripping over,
00:21 there's Michigan, Twitter, or X,
00:23 and there's the rest and everybody else.
00:25 Michigan X, as we like to say here,
00:28 is saying, "What are you talking about?
00:29 It's not a big deal.
00:30 Everybody should be doing it.
00:32 It's a slap.
00:32 It makes no difference.
00:33 And who cares about this big scheme with Conor Stallions?"
00:36 And we counter Ben sometimes with saying,
00:38 "Well, if it was not that big of a deal,
00:41 why did he get fired for doing absolutely nothing wrong?"
00:44 But I wanna bring up this point, Ben,
00:45 before we get started.
00:46 There is going to be a penalty laid down here,
00:48 because as weak as the NCAA is and the Big Ten is,
00:52 you can't just let institutions run rampant on rules here.
00:56 Now, the question is,
00:57 what actually is going to be the rule change
00:59 coming down and also the punishment for Michigan?
01:02 For me, this is as bad as it gets.
01:04 And so, Donnie, you're overreacting to everything here.
01:07 I watched poor and impoverished kids
01:09 go to the University of Miami with the Pell Grant scheme,
01:11 where it was like a couple hundred bucks they could get,
01:13 where they were working with people
01:14 that would help them get it.
01:15 They got banged and basically lost their program
01:18 for five to six years
01:19 when they were on the top of the mountain.
01:21 SMU was a threat on the college football scene
01:24 because everybody was paying players, quote unquote,
01:27 but SMU got caught.
01:28 They were eviscerated with the death penalty,
01:30 taken off of national TV,
01:32 and their program disappeared for a few years.
01:35 To set in motion, don't you ever cross the NCAA again.
01:39 Now, we fast forward to Michigan here.
01:40 We've had Reggie Bush in the past lose Heisman Trophies,
01:43 but now we're actually having on TV, live Michigan,
01:47 stealing signals in-house, out of house, taking tapes,
01:51 having people record them and getting it back,
01:53 and also a coach reportedly on the sidelines
01:56 of another institution in-state to steal
01:59 from Michigan State on the opposite sideline.
02:01 Ben, I don't know where you stand here,
02:03 but if we see a penalty where it's a two-game suspension
02:06 for Jim Harbaugh that starts next season
02:09 when he's gonna take a job in the NFL,
02:11 and everybody goes, "Well, what did you want us to do?"
02:12 Jim Harbaugh said he didn't know anything about it.
02:14 Lack of institutional control.
02:16 Michigan should be removed
02:18 from the college football playoff immediately.
02:20 That's where I stand.
02:22 - Donny, there are so many different angles to this story.
02:25 As new reports come out on a daily basis,
02:28 with all these tangled webs,
02:30 there are so many different directions
02:32 that you could steer this conversation.
02:34 Let's start with the semantics.
02:35 Let's start with what still, in my estimation,
02:39 is very, very simple to understand.
02:41 Sign stealing in college football is not illegal,
02:45 but doing that in person and off campus
02:49 as a scouting operation is against NCAA bylaws.
02:53 Did Michigan do that?
02:55 Yes.
02:56 The answer is yes.
02:58 Using electronic equipment to record that on video
03:02 for the purposes of further scouting.
03:04 Is that illegal?
03:05 Yes.
03:06 It violates NCAA bylaws.
03:08 Did Michigan do that?
03:10 Yes.
03:11 Now, Donny, there was the report yesterday
03:13 of other Big Ten schools and a former Big Ten staffer
03:17 speaking to the AP, the Associated Press,
03:20 on the condition of anonymity about other Big Ten schools
03:24 having Michigan signals.
03:27 Well, two things there.
03:29 One, just having Michigan signals is not illegal.
03:33 It needs to be about how those were received.
03:38 But also, Donny, if you come together,
03:41 as you are using now a group of Big Ten schools
03:44 to scout a future opponent,
03:47 that does violate Big Ten sportsmanship guidelines.
03:51 That's the difference in that report
03:53 that came out yesterday.
03:54 Donny, for me, it's rather simple.
03:56 When you look at how this Michigan thing
03:58 is going to play out, the sign-stealing scandal.
04:01 We can argue everybody does it.
04:02 There's a couple of reports out there that say that.
04:05 We can argue the impact it had on football games
04:08 and what advantage there actually was.
04:11 That, I think, is very much up for debate.
04:13 But again, it's a violation of the bylaws
04:16 and it does give an advantage somehow, some way.
04:20 It all comes down to the punishment
04:23 in what is going to happen.
04:25 The NCAA's investigation is not going to wrap up
04:29 for some time.
04:30 No punishment is going to be levied by the NCAA
04:33 that affects this Michigan football program
04:35 this year in 2023.
04:38 That's why the Big Ten is stepping in
04:40 with somewhat of a show of authority.
04:43 Is it all for the idea of just showing authority
04:45 or actually enacting your power?
04:48 Because, Donny, we have heard from Michigan
04:50 that they are going to sue.
04:51 They are going to take legal action
04:53 if any punishment is handed down
04:55 for the Big Ten Conference.
04:57 Is it a play by Michigan?
04:58 Because they know a hammer is going to be put down on them
05:01 at some point in the near future
05:03 to try to keep that punishment from actually being enacted
05:06 for as long as possible, using the legal process
05:09 to put a stay on whatever that punishment is going to be,
05:13 more than likely.
05:15 But, Donny, I think it comes down to two things.
05:17 A suspension of Jim Harbaugh for however long
05:20 that length is going to be, and Michigan has already
05:22 threatened legal action if that is going to be the case.
05:24 Or a punishment of the Michigan football program.
05:27 A withdrawing of TV revenues, a withholding of TV revenues
05:32 trying to hinder the program.
05:34 I do not think there is going to be a post-season ban
05:37 for the Wolverines this year.
05:38 Might the NCAA institute something in the future?
05:41 That's a different conversation.
05:43 But this Michigan football program
05:45 will play every game this season.
05:47 They will have an opportunity to play
05:48 in the Big Ten Championship if they qualify,
05:50 and thus the college football playoff.
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