A Jersey Guy: Big Ten Decision was a BIG mistake

Ok. 

Enough already. 

 Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti's decision to suspend Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season is misguided at best and could be catastrophic at worst for the Big Ten and college football.

Here's why.

It changes the concept of due process, handing out punishment before the gathering of information and investigation has finished and before the person hurt most by the charges (Harbaugh) has even had a chance to defend his program for what looks more and more like a minor transgression (more about that later).

And now, with Harbaugh and Michigan filing a Temporary Restraining Order, which, if granted, will allow Harbaugh to coach the Wolverines on Saturday,  the issue is in the courts, which is not good news for anyone.

Let's cut to the chase here. 

Michigan broke the rules by having a staff member attend games of opponents games and taping the action on the sidelines in an attempt to steal signals as they were being given.

It happened. 

Michigan broke the rule and has been doing it for three years. They don't deny that. 

The key phrase which the Big Ten used a major reason for the suspension was that it gave the Wolverines a competitive advantage, which knowing the plays  in advance unquestionably provides..

But in talking to several FBS coaches about the practice of stealing signs--which is  not a violation in itself--this was evident at the Power 5 level.

When transmitting plays from the sideline to the field, almost all schools use multiple signal callers, with a code designating which of the two or three signal callers is the "live'' messenger--and it can--and does--change on every play.

As one coach explained to me, "You can watch tape of the sidelines from now until New Year's and if there are guys in an orange hat , a red hat and a blue hat all giving signals to the field, there is NO certain way you can know which guy is the "live'' guy.

So even with that they are "guessing.'' And it an change on every play, so how much of a competitive advantage do you get?""

By suspending Harbaugh  18 hours before Michigan's game with Penn State, the Big Ten did exactly what le it penalized Michigan for doing.

Not having Harbaugh on the sidelines puts the Wolverines at a competitive disadvantage,

Again, if the evidence leads to the conclusion that there was a competitive advantage gained, so be it but not BEFORE all the evidence has been gathered and Michigan has been allowed ample time and opportunity to explain how it conducted its business

Doing it based on accusations and assumptions that Michigan gained a competitive advantage is flat out wrong, and looks exceptionally bad because the people who gain an edge by a Michigan loss would be two of the schools crying for "justice now'', Ohio State and Penn State.

Circumventing the due process time frame is even worse and sets a horrible precedent if it is upheld.

The sad part of this entire affair was that it was all preventable, if the football coaches had dropped their opposition to having microphones in the helmets.

If that were in place, as it is in the NFL, this would not be an issue.