REPORT: Interesting Take on How MSU Rival is Handling NCAA
The sign-stealing scandal continues to haunt Michigan State's rivals, the Michigan Wolverines.
The odd thing is that the Wolverines aren't necessarily denying their wrongdoing. For one, disgraced analyst Connor Stalions is hailed as a sort of folk hero in Ann Arbor, helping the Wolverines overcome the Ohio State Buckeyes and allegedly creating the framework for Michigan's success from 2021 to 2023 when he was caught.
Then there was that odd business of Stalions joining the Belleville coaching staff, coaching the Wolverines' No. 1 target in the best quarterback and prospect in the country, Bryce Underwood. Who would eventually commit to the Wolverines. Odd.
Now, the Wolverines are refuting the extent of the allegations, releasing a massive document covering that ground, as reported by Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.
"In the 137-page document — a portion of which Yahoo Sports obtained — Michigan makes clear that it will not enter into a negotiated resolution with the NCAA over the alleged wrongdoing, vigorously defending its former head coach, current head coach, several staff members and even Stalions," Dellenger wrote.
The university's actions are telling.
"Even now, some 18 months later, Michigan athletics still isn’t disputing it cheated," wrote Shawn Windsor in a column for the Detroit Free Press. "And that’s notable. Instead, it’s arguing it didn’t cheat as much as the NCAA said it did, and maybe that argument — made public in a report from Yahoo Sports on Tuesday — might eventually help the school mitigate the consequences for cheating. But claiming total innocence? U-M didn’t do that. And can’t do that. Because a member of its football staff, Connor Stalions, allegedly broke rules regarding in-person scouting.
" ... This feels like a negotiation tactic. And while some might argue U-M should’ve taken its punishment and moved on a while ago, U-M was clearly worried about the punishment — worried enough to do something it knew would keep the scandal in the news. No wonder the report detailed a more defiant stance from U-M as the school accused the NCAA of 'grossly overreaching' and 'wildly overcharging' in its notice of allegations sent last August."
What else can Michigan do? It has been caught red-handed. How else should they spend the interim before the NCAA potentially punishes them?
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