Spy-gate at Michigan University
posted by Trevor Lloyd | October 23, 2023 | In SportsOn October 20, the University of Michigan football program was formally put under investigation for illegal scouting. The allegations are that Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has had staffers attend upcoming opponents football games and video tape their games and getting offensive and defensive signs. In college football, this is not allowed. Teams are allowed to record games that they are actively playing only during the course of the game.
These allegations have made many people draw comparisons to the 2007 New England Patriots, who were accused of illegally filming opponents in what was called Spy-gate.
A low-level Michigan staffer named Connor Stalions is a person of interest for this investigation. Stalions, a former captain in the United States Marine Corps, is described as the lynchpin to the operation. Reports have varied, claiming that the NCAA has gotten Stalions’s laptop or are trying to get his laptop.
Coach Harbaugh, who has already served a 3-game suspension imposed on him by the University of Michigan for low level scouting and recruiting violations, has said that neither he nor his program has engaged in such behavior, and he’s more than willing to cooperate with the investigation.
These investigations could have lasting implications. This could possibly be the last straw for Harbaugh’s college football tenure, as he has butted heads with the NCAA since returning to college coaching in 2017. The head coach has flirted with returning to the NFL and could the jump to the pros if he feels that the NCAA continues to target him.
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