Michigan Wolverines Should Focus On Sportsmanship And Play By The Rule

Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh speaks on the major……

I’ve been following the Michigan football drama for weeks and have withheld offering comment for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to see how this sign-stealing situation played out and, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have done media training for Michigan’s football student athletes several times over the years and felt hesitant to jump in too early.

But this weekend was more than I could handle. So I’m weighing in to say I’ve had enough. Michigan’s vaunted football program, currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, needs to lay off the drama and engage in some serious self-reflection about the impact of cheating on their program, reputation and, above all, integrity.

As background, the football program in Ann Arbor has been accused of signal-stealing, and a Big Ten probe into the matter found enough evidence to ban Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh for several games. What is signal-stealing? All teams spend time reviewing video and television broadcasts of opponents’ games with the goal of evaluating how they play as well as deciphering their signals for use when the teams meet. This, by the rules of college football, is a legal activity and one around which entire departments are built at places like Michigan, Ohio State and Georgia.

What is not legal is signal stealing, which can be accomplished in two ways: by having a staff member attend future opponents’ games — usually in disguise, a la John le Carré — or eavesdropping on opponents using electronics. The rationale behind the ban on signal stealing is perfectly sensible: spying is expensive and confers a whopping advantage on bigger, wealthier programs. This is the reason the NCAA banned the practice years ago.

At the heart of the controversy stands the shadowy figure of one Connor Stalions, a football analyst with the Wolverines and a retired captain in the United States Marine Corps. He’s the operative who has been “made” by opposing football staffs who have seen him at their games — undercover and in disguise. But the one who has to take the heat at Michigan, again per established NCAA guidelines, is head coach Harbaugh, who has flatly denied having any knowledge of, or participation in, the signal stealing. He has not, for the record, denied that it occurred.