Sometime the things that happen in Ann Arbor are so crazy that you couldn't make them up. First, let's review. Several months ago, Michigan and Jim Harbaugh were issued "notice of allegations including a "Level I allegation from the NCAA for allegedly making false statements about recruiting violations during the 2021 COVID dead period in recruiting and for misleading investigators." That is how the Detroit New referred to the situation.
Now, there does appear to be a little wiggle room here, As CBS Sports explained: "Providing false and misleading information is a violation of NCAA Bylaw 10.1, which deals with unethical conduct. Violations of this bylaw include obstructing an investigation or encouraging another person to lie. It is considered a "significant" violation, but is not always a Level I infraction....The unethical conduct violation has its foundational base in the old phrase, "The cover up is worse than the crime." But there is no language in the NCAA manual about it being an automatic Level I violation, so there is some gray area there."
In summary, the NCAA is accusing Harbaugh of lying and unethical conduct which is very, very serious, but which may not technically be a Level I infraction? Cool. Got it.
Anyway, here is what chief Wolverine propagandist John U. Bacon had to say about this. At least, I think that it was John. It is possible that a parody account hacked his Twitter account. I am not sure how we would notice the difference, though...
Let's just hit the high points here:
I mean, you literally can't make this stuff up.
Now, there does appear to be a little wiggle room here, As CBS Sports explained: "Providing false and misleading information is a violation of NCAA Bylaw 10.1, which deals with unethical conduct. Violations of this bylaw include obstructing an investigation or encouraging another person to lie. It is considered a "significant" violation, but is not always a Level I infraction....The unethical conduct violation has its foundational base in the old phrase, "The cover up is worse than the crime." But there is no language in the NCAA manual about it being an automatic Level I violation, so there is some gray area there."
In summary, the NCAA is accusing Harbaugh of lying and unethical conduct which is very, very serious, but which may not technically be a Level I infraction? Cool. Got it.
Anyway, here is what chief Wolverine propagandist John U. Bacon had to say about this. At least, I think that it was John. It is possible that a parody account hacked his Twitter account. I am not sure how we would notice the difference, though...
Let's just hit the high points here:
- U. of Michigan suspending Harbaugh was smart "as long as it was done with JH's approval"
- Michigan is the NCAA's "passive victim." But this move "puts the NCAA in a bad spot" because punishing Michigan more will "look even dumber, if that's possible"
- Having Harbaugh sit out three games will "give everyone a reason to pay more attention than they might have otherwise" because... his absence will cause Michigan to beat East Carolina by 28 points instead of 35?
- It is "another nail in the NCAA coffin"
- The NCAA is already losing the PR battle becuase it is firing off "false and misleading press releases."
I mean, you literally can't make this stuff up.
