A long-standing discussion in college sports has been about coaches punished by the NCAA who don’t actually have to face that punishment thanks to moving to the professional ranks. A lot of that recently has been about Jim Harbaugh.
Last season, Harbaugh won a national championship with the Michigan Wolverines’ football team. He did that despite being suspended for the last three games of the regular season in settlement of Big Ten investigation into alleged sign-stealing with Connor Stalions. And he promptly moved on to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Meanwhile, a draft of NCAA allegations against Michigan was reported on by ESPN’s Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel Sunday. That includes specific claims of Level 1 violations (the most serious) against Harbaugh and other coaches. The others so implicated included Sherrone Moore (the former Michigan offensive coordinator, interim coach in Harbaugh’s absence, and his replacement as head coach), Chris Partridge (the former Michigan linebackers coach, who was fired in November amidst the sign-stealing scandal, and now works as the Seattle Seahawks’ outside linebackers coach), Denard Robinson (the former Michigan assistant director of player personnel, suspended in April after an operating while intoxicated charge, then let go from the team the next month), and Stalions (soon to appear in a Netflix documentary).
That draft is a draft. It has not officially been sent to the Wolverines yet. And a lot could change before it is. But it’s a notable piece of information at this point, and it’s prompted some interesting reactions from those mentioned. And those include Harbaugh, who told NFL reporters Monday he does not feel he did anything wrong. Here’s more on that, via Ian Casselberry at Yahoo:
Asked about the report during a news conference Monday, Harbaugh maintained that he knew nothing of Stalions’ activities and did not commit any of the allegations raised in the draft.
“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson,” Harbaugh told reporters, including ESPN’s Kris Rihm. “I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams that I’ve coached.
“No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right,” he added. “Today, I do not apologize. I did not participate, was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations. So for me, it’s back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”
Here’s some video of that, via Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports:
Jim Harbaugh on Michigan’s notice of allegations:
“No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and make it right. Today, I do not apologize.”
(via @chargers) pic.twitter.com/IIT35We3so
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) August 5, 2024
The “enthusiasm unknown to mankind” is a long-running bit from Harbaugh, so that’s not as remarkable as it would be if coming from a coach not known to use that language. But the rest of this is a remarkable statement. And those who feel that Michigan did err here and that Harbaugh knew or should have knew (a group apparently including the NCAA investigators/disciplinarians, at least as per this reported draft) about that probably will have their own thoughts on him saying he was taught “Never lie” and “Never cheat” and insisting he didn’t stumble.
Any actual NCAA punishment against Harbaugh doesn’t seem likely to do much, at least for the time being. He’s in his first year with the Chargers, and likely has at least a few years of rope there. And, unless that goes really horribly for him, there may be other opportunities ahead for him in the professional ranks, so even a show-cause order from the NCAA may not mean much. So he can afford to be a little more openly defiant than someone still subject to NCAA jurisdiction, like Moore.
Still, it’s remarkable to see Harbaugh chime in so strongly, and with such an insistence he did nothing wrong. And that suggests there will be further interesting media dimensions to any punishment that does eventually come down against the Wolverines. If Harbaugh is this willing to speak out this boldly on this draft, he may really go scorched earth if and when any actual punishment gets imposed.
[Yahoo Sports]
