The penalties for the Michigan advanced sign-stealing scandal perpetrated by staffer Connor Stalions finally have a little bit of resolution, and it goes nowhere near what everyone outside of Ann Arbor believes it should have. The Wolverines were slapped with a monetary fine, several coaches received show-cause penalties, and there are some drop-in-the-bucket recruiting restrictions, but all records, wins — and titles — shall remain.
Now, maybe it’s time to move forward, but many media members are having a hard time digesting the minor fallout of a competitive advantage gained by Michigan using elaborate means to scout future opponents, being caught, and still being able to move ahead without many repercussions.
But ESPN and longtime SEC personality Paul Finebaum is having none of it. He has been very, very critical of the Michigan program and, most notably, Jim Harbaugh in some scathing remarks when the dust settled, basically calling out the Wolverine brass and calling Harbaugh and company cheats on a segment during the ESPN show, “First Take.”
“What Jim Harbaugh has done is highway robbery. He stole a national championship. It’s as simple as that,” Finebaum said on First Take. “He used Connor Stalions, and then he lied and obfuscated. He misled. It’s truly beyond hypocrisy. This is the same guy who shot arrows at everybody a couple of years earlier. He accused Nick Saban of cheating. He accused Kirby Smart. He just blanketly accused everyone, and now look at him holding up a banner. As soon as he gets the bonus, he hightails it out of town with no penalty.”
Finebaum then went on to slam the NCAA for the lack of accountability for what many see as one of the worst cheating scandals in sports history.
“This whole thing stinks, and I realize nothing is going to happen here because that’s the world we live in, but you act like Michigan has suffered here. They haven’t suffered,” Finebaum continued. “They wrote a check. So what? This is a very wealthy university. And if you don’t believe me, just ask any Michigan graduate anywhere in the country. They’ll tell you how great they are.”
But Finebaum wasn’t done. He concluded his scathing remarks by taking jabs at the Michigan program and Harbaugh once more to wrap it up.
“This is not a school that wins a lot of national championships, either,” he said. They’ve won two-and-a-half national championships in 70 years. I think Alabama won that many just walking down the street yesterday. They didn’t really steal it. They didn’t go into a bank and steal the national championship, but it feels like they did something tawdry. They did something against a bunch of no-name schools that they didn’t need to. But that’s who Jim Harbaugh is.”
Finebaum isn’t one to hold back in his criticism, especially against Big Ten programs as of late, but something tells me there are plenty in Buckeye Nation and around the country that are right there with him on this one.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Paul Finebaum slams Michigan for cheating scandal
Reporting by Phil Harrison, Buckeyes Wire / Buckeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
