SO SAD: Coach from Michigan Banished From Three Games for Sign-Stealing …
PA: STATE COLLEGE (AP) — In an unprecedented fight with college football’s most successful programme for a sign-stealing plan that has shaken the sport, the Big Ten Conference on Friday suspended Jim Harbaugh from coaching Michigan’s last three regular-season games.
Shortly thereafter, the university made good on its vow to fight back in court, seeking a Michigan judge to issue a temporary restraining order that would let Harbaugh lead the Wolverines in their biggest game of the season.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The Big Ten Conference banned Jim Harbaugh from coaching at Michigan’s three remaining regular-season games on Friday, escalating an extraordinary confrontation with college football’s winningest program over a sign-stealing scheme that has rocked the sport.
The school delivered on its promise to fight back in court a few hours later, asking a Michigan judge for a temporary restraining order that would allow Harbaugh to coach the Wolverines in their biggest game of the season so far.
The discipline was announced less than 24 hours before kickoff at No. 9 Penn State. The second-ranked Wolverines (9-0) have a shot to win a third straight Big Ten title and the school’s first national championship since 1997.
Michigan’s team plane landed in Pennsylvania shortly before the announcement. It issued a statement ridiculing the decision.
“Like all members of the Big Ten Conference, we are entitled to a fair, deliberate and thoughtful process to determine the full set of facts before a judgment is rendered,” Michigan President Santa Ono said in a statement. “Today’s action by Commissioner Tony Petitti disregards the conference’s own handbook, violates basic tenets of due process, and sets an untenable precedent of assessing penalties before an investigation has been completed.”
Harbaugh has denied any knowledge of an improper scouting scheme in his program. Michigan warned earlier this week that it was prepared to take possible legal action if the conference punished the program before a full investigation; the NCAA and the Big Ten are both looking into the claims.
“To ensure fairness in the process, we intend to seek a court order, together with Coach Harbaugh, preventing this disciplinary action from taking effect,” Ono said.
In Washtenaw County, the request for a restraining order was filed with Harbaugh and the Michigan board of regents listed as plaintiffs and Petitti and the Big Ten as defendants. Courts were closed Friday, the recognized federal holiday for Veteran’s Day, and it was unclear when Judge Timothy P. Connors, a veteran judge and a Michigan graduate, might rule.
Michigan accused the Big Ten of trying to “thwart” its plan to seek immediate help from a judge, but the Big Ten didn’t get school responses until late Wednesday before handing down a decision almost 48 hours later.