{"id":64740,"date":"2024-08-08T10:11:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T15:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=64740"},"modified":"2024-08-08T10:11:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T15:11:00","slug":"embarrassed-ncaa-was-never-going-to-let-jim-harbaugh-go-away-unscathed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/embarrassed-ncaa-was-never-going-to-let-jim-harbaugh-go-away-unscathed\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Embarrassed\u2019 NCAA was never going to let Jim Harbaugh go away unscathed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jim Harbaug<\/a><\/strong>h may have left Michigan without fighting the NCAA, but the organization that took unprecedented steps to go after him was never going to let him go without a shot after the bell. From a speedy investigation to a negotiated suspension and violating its own gag order rules when a member declared in the media,\u201dit\u2019s not [just] cheeseburger,\u201d they were hellbent on making an example of the U-M coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The 3-2-1: Michigan QB battle rumblings, positions on the rise, and more<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yahoo\u2019s Dan Wetzel essentially predicted this day back on Aug. 13, 2023, in his column titled \u201c\u2019Not a cheeseburger\u2019 comment suggests the NCAA is hellbent on hitting Jim Harbaugh hard<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

It proved to be prophetic. The NCAA nailed Harbaugh with a 4-year show cause and 1-year suspension effective immediately, more a \u201cwe showed you!\u201d than anything given he\u2019s now the Los Angeles Chargers\u2019 coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Not a cheeseburger\u2019\u201d suggests the NCAA is so embarrassed by the dragging it receives online, that it is hellbent on hitting Harbaugh even harder than its own enforcement staff thought was acceptable,\u201d Wetzel wrote. \u201cHow can anyone, let alone Jim Harbaugh, take this seriously or expect a fair process?\u201d<\/p>\n

The obvious response today \u2014 it couldn\u2019t. Harbaugh knew it, and so did those in his inner circle. It\u2019s one of the reasons Harbaugh pursued the NFL even more diligently this year when he reportedly felt the athletic department wouldn\u2019t have his back in fighting any potential over-the-top punishment \u2026 something for which his lawyer, Tom Mars, said amounted to not recalling buying burgers for prospective student-athletes during a dead period.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how should he be expected to?\u201d was one of Mars\u2019 rebuttals, noting Harbaugh is a 59-year-old ex-football player who has taken so many shots, his memory isn\u2019t what it once was \u2026 not to mention he\u2019d had 100s, if not thousands of interactions with recruits.<\/p>\n

In addition, Mars noted, the NCAA demanded Harbaugh turn over 6,200 personal emails, along with texts and phone logs immediately. Harbaugh\u2019s attorney said it would have cost his client over $38,000 for the time it would take to go through each one to find out what was relevant.<\/p>\n

\n\n

For those who might be curious about the tactics used by NCAA enforcement, here\u2019s the factual basis for the NCAA\u2019s allegation that Coach Harbaugh \u201cfailed to cooperate\u201d in their investigation of Connor Stalions by not producing his personal emails and text messages. pic.twitter.com\/H86tTj7Vz5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tom Mars (@TomMarsLaw) August 5, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cInterestingly, in the same investigation, the NCAA allowed other Michigan coaches to withhold emails and text messages \u2018that are not relevant or potentially relevant to the investigation, as determined through a meet and confer process with the NCAA,\u2019\u201d Mars added in another tweet.<\/p>\n

He then offered his advice to Harbaugh as to how to proceed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were in Coach Harbaugh\u2019s shoes and had an $80 million contract as head coach of the Chargers, I wouldn\u2019t pay any attention to the findings of a kangaroo court which claims to represent the principles of the nation\u2019s most flagrant, repeat violator of the federal antitrust laws,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Harbaugh, Michigan?<\/h2>\n

This verdict doesn\u2019t come as any surprise to school insiders who told us several days ago the NCAA was coming after Harbaugh (and potentially Michigan) with threats they considered \u201cmassive overreach.\u201d\u00a0And if anything, it shows how selective, dangerous, and vindictive a group of people many now deem \u201cirrelevant\u201d and fighting for their existence can be. As Wetzel wrote then and some with knowledge of the NCAA\u2019s tactics told us recently, they weren\u2019t guided by facts, but embarrassment.\u00a0As we noted in our first article on the subjec<\/a>t, \u201csome believe the NCAA is \u2018looking to make an example of Michigan\u2019 for what the association believes was Michigan \u2018thumbing its nose\u2019 at them throughout the investigation.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Harbaugh punishment seems to indicate just that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But will they stop there, or continue to push back at Michigan? This might be their\u00a0Battle of Little Bighorn, after all. With many in belief that NCAA football and basketball have outgrown an organization whose existence is about working with amateur sports, will they try to prove their relevance by overreaching?\u00a0<\/p>\n

As noted, U-M is prepared for the possibility. And if so, it could take \u201cyears\u201d to resolve. We hope Michigan would follow through but stop short of saying we\u2019d \u201cexpect\u201d it given recent history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As for Harbaugh, he\u2019s on to other ventures, so maybe he\u2019ll take Mars\u2019 advice. That doesn\u2019t seem like Harbaugh, though, especially given the negative publicity it\u2019s caused one of football\u2019s most esteemed football families.\u00a0He could choose to appeal, per NCAA bylaws, and it wouldn\u2019t surprise us either way. The coach has a national title that\u2019s not going away (again \u2014 no talk of vacating wins or removing championships), and he looks happy and comfortable in L.A. He also continues to maintain his innocence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNever lie. Never cheat. Never steal,\u201d Harbaugh said before the punishment was levied. \u201cI was raised with that lesson. I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams I\u2019ve coached. No one\u2019s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I do not apologize. I did not participate. I was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations. So, for me, it\u2019s back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s up to Michigan to do the same in dealing with an organization even many of the program\u2019s biggest critics are saying needs to move on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all a continuation of a long, drawn-out story that in many people\u2019s eyes, probably other than the NCAA, is over. Let\u2019s not forget that Charlie Baker, the president of the NCAA \u2014 and this may sound out of context, because it probably is \u2014 but after Michigan won the national championship, he said they won fair and square,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Paul Finebaum, one of Harbaugh\u2019s biggest critics last year, said. \u201cI remember that, and I think a lot of lawyers are going to remember that too, if this case goes very far and puts Michigan in the crosshairs.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 The point is that in the big picture of college athletics, nobody respects the NCAA. Nobody really cares about the NCAA. And there are a team of lawyers ready to drag this out and to threaten the NCAA if they dare do anything to Michigan other than a slap on the wrist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe they\u2019ll continue to hammer at Harbaugh (remember, this is for \u201cburgergate,\u201d not \u201csigngate) instead of U-M. Many have said that for all the NCAA\u2019s big threats, they don\u2019t expect much punishment over the latest NOA Draft. <\/p>\n

So \u2026 we\u2019ll see what comes next. At this point, however, the kangaroos seem to have nothing to lose, and nothing should surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post \u2018Embarrassed\u2019 NCAA was never going to let Jim Harbaugh go away unscathed<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jim Harbaugh may have left Michigan without fighting the NCAA, but the organization that took…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64770,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64740\/revisions\/64770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}