Paul Finebaum calls it 'inexcusable' the Big Ten hasn't punished Michigan, Jim Harbaugh
As the Michigan sign-stealing investigation continues to unfold, more and more comes to light seemingly each day. ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum has seen enough to call his shot.
He thinks the whole thing stinks to high heavens.
“Two weeks ago I sat here with you and made the biggest mistake of my professional career: I gave Jim Harbaugh the benefit of the doubt,” Finebaum said Wednesday morning on ESPN’s Get Up. “Never again. I thought it was too early to come down on him. It’s not too early anymore. It’s actually getting very late for him.”
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The latest revelation came on Tuesday, with a photo that surfaced of a person wearing sunglasses and sporting a goatee on the sidelines at a Central Michigan game against Michigan State earlier this year. The photo is under investigation because the man in question appears to be Connor Stalions, the Michigan staffer at the heart of the sign-stealing scandal.
If it were Stalions, it would be a direct breach of NCAA rules that prohibit in-person scouting of future opponents in the same season.
It would be further indication that Michigan was brazen with its attempts to steal signs. Now, whether that brazenness was tied to just one man, Stalions, or went well beyond that remains to be seen.
But Finebaum has seen enough.
“I mean this is a disgusting story with every revelation which happens every single day of the week,” he said. “And the fact that the Big Ten has not done anything yet is inexcusable. That’s the only mechanism to stop this train, and quite frankly a lot of people think it should be stopped. It’s up to Tony Pettiti, the new Big Ten commissioner, to step in. They’re the only people with jurisdiction.
“The NCAA could be looking at this for the rest of our lives, and as far as whether Jim Harbaugh goes to the NFL, that’s really up to NFL franchises whether or not they want to get in business with this guy right now.”
Still, until there is some kind of concrete evidence that Michigan cheated, it’s unlikely anything will happen to the Wolverines.
Even the College Football Playoff committee noted Tuesday night that they can’t penalize the Wolverines for alleged violations without any verified proof.
“Michigan’s played well all season,” said Bill Hancock, the executive director of the College Football Playoff. “The fact of the matter is no one knows what happened. The NCAA’s dealing right now with allegations only. The committee makes its judgments based on what happened on the field, and clearly Michigan has been a dominant team.
“You have to remember that these are allegations at this point and not facts. And so, there is no substantive evidence that anything happened that might have affected the game. All this committee does is evaluate what happens on the field during games. That’s why we are where we are.”