State Of Michigan Lawmakers Write To Tony Petitti Urging Patience For Michigan Football

It appears Michigan football has more than just its own University defending the Wolverines.

On Wednesday afternoon, 11 Michigan Lawmakers wrote a joint letter to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti urging patience in pursuit vs. the Michigan football program.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Mr. Petitti,

As members of the Michigan legislature, we write to you today to urge you to act prudently and refrain from taking any premature measures against one of our state universities, including their athletic program, football team or coaching staff. These individuals are our constituents, and we feel the need to ensure they are treated fairly.

In the legislature, we pass laws to ensure every citizen and organization in Michigan is guaranteed their rights to due process under the law. These principles of justice should also befollowed by the Big Ten Conference. Allegations of misconduct against conference members from the State of Michigan should be taken seriously, but accusations, especially those made by interested parties, must be met with thoughtful and thorough investigations based on fairness for all of those involved.

We all know the passion surrounding college athletics, not only in our state, but around the country. With social media speculation and public rumors running wild, it is important that any investigation and determination is based on carefully considered facts. The University of Michigan and its football program, like all of our collegiate athletic programs, is entitled to an impartial and deliberate process that takes into account all evidence, allows for opportunities for the accused to refute allegations, and comes to conclusions based on the whole truth.

It is essential that the Big Ten Conference not take any disciplinary action against the University of Michigan until the final results of its own or, more appropriately, the NCAA investigation are officially announced. Should those results demonstrate misconduct, an appropriate punishment should be imposed. In the meantime, the players and coaches should be free to continue to participate in the game that they love without being punished with premature or unsubstantiated sanctions.

Should you, as the Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, rush to judgement or engage in any ill-considered actions, we will vigorously support our public universities in their efforts to compel fairness and due process.

We appreciate your attention to this letter, and hope it serves as a buttress to your commitmentto fair treatment for all of those who participate in college athletics.

Eleven Michigan state lawmakers sent this letter to the Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti today urging him to “refrain from taking any premature measures” against Michigan: pic.twitter.com/BIpfKGM7Ea
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) November 8, 2023

This a pretty powerful letter by powerful people. It speaks volumes for Michigan that its lawmakers went out of their way to show support for the football program. Also, note the second to last paragraph when they stated if Petitti would take quick judgment, the lawmakers "vigorously support our public universities in their efforts to compel fairness and due process".

It also came out on Wednesday that Michigan was consulting with a group of attorneys from Williams & Connolly, a large, national firm based in Washington, to weigh their legal options. This is arguably one of the biggest and best firms in the entire country.

Michigan is pulling out all the stops to defend itself against the Big Ten during the NCAA's investigation for alleged illegal sign-stealing.