Jim Harbaugh Has Been Suspended For An Entire Year If He Ever Returns To College Football For Lying And Cheating (And This Is Separate From The Sign Stealing Punishment)
"NEVER LIE, NEVER STEAL, AND NEVER CHEAT!" - Jim Harbaugh (less than 48 hours ago) as he emphatically pounds the table while he discusses the moral high ground he has on the rest of the world
The NCAA this morning: "Throughout the investigation, Harbaugh denied involvement in the violations, which were overwhelmingly supported by the record”
I can't decide which part of this decision that just came down is my favorite. At first it was the "unethical conduct" because it shows his entire man of God / perfect person identity is fraudulent, but then I read about his "intentional disregard for the NCAA rules" and it showed me that he's not just a liar, he's a fucking snake. And then I got to the "failure to monitor his staff" and that "Head Coaches are responsible for violations that occur within their programs" and got a little juiced up because those phrases might come in handy in future investigations. But after mulling it all over, I have concluded that my favorite part of this decision is not even in the decision itself. It's that......THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!! This has nothing to do with the game/life altering sign-stealing operation that Michigan ran, which was 10000x worse than anything he did here. And if you say "He bought a cheeseburger! This isn't even a big deal." Then I would counter with this: if this "no big deal" is worth a 4-year show clause and a full year suspension, then what do you think a "big deal" might be worth to the NCAA?
But actually, you know what? I have changed my mind. I come to you all today with a whole new perspective on the situation. I have reflected on how the last few weeks have gone, and despite the NCAA investigating and proving that Jim Harbaugh did in fact lie through his teeth while committing these violations, there is NO REASON TO BELIEVE that he is lying about not knowing anything about Connor Stalions. I do believe Stalions was a lone wolf. I think Sherrone Moore was just doing his annual cleanup of his cell phone the morning he deleted 52 texts with Stalions, which just so happened to be the same morning the initial story broke. I think he took his hard drives from the facility because he probably wanted to play the video games he had saved on there. I think all analysts have direct lines of communication to the Defensive Coordinators on the sideline and whisper in their ears while craning their necks at the other teams coaches. And I think that Michigan's resurgence from doormat to relevance coinciding with when the sign stealing started is nothing more than a coincidence.
How could anyone think differently?? Harbaugh runs an honest program! He doesn't lie, steal, or cheat! Michigan won fair and square! (Except all the times he hasn't….but this one is different. He said so!)
*I must note that it's kinda fucking bullshit that this punishment is a big ol' nothing burger in terms of actual relevance. He can't coach in college? Okay? That's why he ran to the pros. If the NFL has any spine at all, they would carry this over to their league. JUST LIKE THEY DID WITH JIM TRESSEL!!!! But nope, the NFL won't do anything. And I fear the NCAA, despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that says they should, will not vacate anything for the sign-stealing either. Probably give Harbaugh a lifetime ban, but who cares? Today's ruling is a Mickey Mouse punishment when you really think about it. Like giving an adult a detention if they ever go back to elementary school. Means nothing. But what it really did was show that Jim Harbaugh is a liar that cannot be trusted. It showed that if he says he knew nothing about the sign stealing, he actually knew everything.