Ric Flair Met with Jim Harbaugh and Everyone Made the Same ‘Dirtiest Players’ Joke

Ric Flair was responsible for all sorts of dirty deeds during his legendary wrestling career, but did he ever do something as dastardly as steal an opponent’s signs? 

Flair paid a visit to the Michigan football team in Ann Arbor on Monday, an appearance that coach Jim Harbaugh said “brought the enthusiasm to a new level” in the meeting room. 

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's college football program is being investigated for sign-stealing.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Harbaugh called Flair “a very close friend” and the two posed for a photo in Harbaugh’s office, which Flair then posted on social media. 

This time last month, the photo would have been completely unremarkable. But after the revelation that a Michigan staffer was accused of illegally videotaping opponents for the purpose of stealing signs, Harbaugh being pictured with a notorious cheater was suddenly a lot funnier. 

The photo made plenty of fans think of one of Flair’s many nicknames: “The Dirtiest Player in the Game,” and they all quickly piled on Harbaugh with similar wisecracks. 

If it was an intentional move on Harbaugh’s part to invite one of the most famous cheaters in sports history to campus just as his team is accused of blatantly disregarding the rules, you have to give him credit for leaning into Michigan’s newfound status as the biggest heel in college football.