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The University of Michigan football team has been under fire since allegations of alleged sign stealing surfaced. Friday, the Big Ten suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh from coaching the team’s final three regular season games.
Violation of Sportsmanship Policy
The conference stated Friday that suspending Harbaugh is a punishment against Michigan football for violating the league’s sportsmanship policy.
The announcement came 23 days after the NCAA first notified the Big Ten and Michigan officials about credible information the football program had been involved in a sign stealing scheme.
The incriminating information proved that Connor Stallions, a former member of Michigan’s staff, compromised the integrity of this year’s game by scouting other team’s signals in advance.
Since news broke out, Stallions has been fired.
How News Broke out
The Big Ten announced the punishment while Michigan football team was on a plane headed to Penn State.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti announced the decision, but did not directly deliver the news to Michigan.
Specifically, Harbaugh found out about his suspension through a social media post.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel was unhappy about the manner the football program heard about the decision, according to Harbaugh.
Harbaugh Want to Speak
Hours after the conference announced the suspension, Harbaugh and the university filed a complaint against the Big Ten and Petitti in state court.
Michigan has asked the court for a temporary restraining order that would void the suspension, meaning the head coach could be back on the field.
Moreover, a hearing will take place on Friday at the Washtenaw County Courthouse in Ann Arbor.
It is not known yet if Harbaugh will have the opportunity to state his case in front of the judge, but he will be in attendance.
He has stated that he had no knowledge of the sign-stealing scheme.
The Big Ten admitted that it never received any information that Harbaugh was aware of the nature of the actions. Additionally, the suspension is not a sanction on Harbaugh but rather one against the University of Michigan.
