Michigan State Rival Michigan Thumbs Nose at NCAA, College Football
Michigan State's arch-rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, continue to be in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Not for the upcoming season in which they will look to defend a national title with a new head coach, Sherrone Moore. Not for having one of the best players in the country in cornerback Will Johnson or defensive tackle Mason Graham.
The Wolverines continue to draw headlines over former head coach Jim Harbaugh's ties to the Connor Stalions scandal he left behind in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, or knowledge of any wrongdoing. Despite the evidence piling up.
His former program is now paying the consequences, but per Detroit Free Press' Rainer Sabin, Harbaugh is still shown reverence.
"Michigan continues to pay deference to a man whose naked ambition for championship glory may have resulted in the ultimate destruction of the football program’s holier-than-thou image," Sabin wrote. "On Friday, news broke that athletic director Warde Manuel said Harbaugh had accepted an invitation to return to campus as an honorary captain for the Wolverines’ [August] 31 season opener against Fresno State."
"I'm looking forward to having him back here in Ann Arbor for that game," Manuel said. per Sabin.
"Harbaugh broke that vow multiple times and two years later abandoned Michigan, leaving his alma mater to deal with the fallout from a pair of NCAA investigations that tarnished the program’s reputation and led skeptics to question the legitimacy of the Wolverines’ accomplishments over the past three seasons," Sabin wrote. "Based alone on his personal drama with Harbaugh, it’s hard to fathom why Manuel is now planning to roll out the red carpet for the former coach’s ceremonial return instead of exiling him from Schembechler Hall for the foreseeable future. It becomes even more difficult to understand knowing that the NCAA has already turned Harbaugh into a persona non grata in the college football space and is still in the process of adjudicating the sign-stealing case that has left the university reportedly facing a major Level I infraction.
"Much in the same way that Harbaugh’s unrepentant reaction to the draft notice of allegations was galling, Michigan’s decision to pay tribute to him at this time seems particularly brazen, tone-deaf and arrogant. Is anyone really surprised though?"
Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
MICHAEL FRANCE