Desmond Howard has always been quick to defend his alma mater, the University of Michigan, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1991.
That’s made the ESPN College GameDay panelist’s job difficult in recent weeks, as the media storm swirls around the program’s sign-stealing scandal.
So Tuesday, for the second time in 10 days, Howard called out an ESPN colleague for their coverage of the Wolverines. Tuesday’s target: Paul Finebaum. The veteran ESPN college football analyst believes the scandal has destroyed the legitimacy of Michigan’s undefeated season, and he will not consider Michigan the national champion even if they win the College Football Playoff.
Howard appeared on The Rich Eisen Show Tuesday and offered a brutal criticism of Finebaum.
“Paul Finebaum is a caricature of a caricature of Paul Finebaum,”Howard told Eisen. “That’s what he is right now. You can’t take anything he says seriously. You just can’t. It’s like they march him out there, they pull the string in his back, and he just starts spewing negative things about Michigan. When a person does that repeatedly and you just know his shtick, you can’t take him seriously.”
As noted, it’s the second time in 10 days Howard has directly criticized an ESPN co-worker over their Michigan coverage. On Nov. 25, Howard called out colleague Pete Thamel for avoiding a crowd of Wolverines fans during a report at the Michigan-Ohio State game. Thamel has been criticized by many fans — and even received threats — for his coverage of the sign-stealing scandal.
Howard challenged Thamel to “Put your big boy pants” and do the report in the crowd the way he normally does.
Desmond Howard discussed Pete Thamel not being in the crowd. "I'm like, 'What the hell is Pete in the stadium for?' …Put your big boy pants on and do it in the crowd like you have been." Rece Davis then said "He's got, from the lunatic fringe, some threats." pic.twitter.com/yzWmeSK822
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 25, 2023
Howard is entitled to his opinion; it’s his job to be opinionated. But when he throws darts at colleagues, it creates a difficult situation for everyone at the network.
